Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Emerg Microbes Infect. 2018 Oct 17;7(1):169. doi: 10.1038/s41426-018-0170-6.
Zika virus (ZIKV) has elicited global concern due to its unique biological features, unusual transmission routes, and unexpected clinical outcomes. Although ZIKV transmission through anal intercourse has been reported in humans, it remains unclear if ZIKV is detectable in the stool, if it can infect the host through the anal canal mucosa, and what the pathogenesis of such a route of infection might be in the mouse model. Herein, we demonstrate that ZIKV RNA can be recovered from stools in multiple mouse models, as well as from the stool of a ZIKV patient. Remarkably, intra-anal (i.a.) inoculation with ZIKV leads to efficient infection in both Ifnar1 and immunocompetent mice, characterized by extensive viral replication in the blood and multiple organs, including the brain, small intestine, testes, and rectum, as well as robust humoral and innate immune responses. Moreover, i.a. inoculation of ZIKV in pregnant mice resulted in transplacental infection and delayed fetal development. Overall, our results identify the anorectal mucosa as a potential site of ZIKV infection in mice, reveal the associated pathogenesis of i.a. infection, and highlight the complexity of ZIKV transmission through anal intercourse.
寨卡病毒（ZIKV）因其独特的生物学特征、不同寻常的传播途径和意外的临床结果而引起全球关注。尽管已经有报道称寨卡病毒可以通过肛交传播，但目前尚不清楚寨卡病毒是否可以在粪便中检测到，是否可以通过肛门黏膜感染宿主，以及这种感染途径的发病机制在小鼠模型中可能是什么。在这里，我们证明 ZIKV RNA 可以从多种小鼠模型以及一名寨卡病毒患者的粪便中回收。值得注意的是，通过肛门内（i.a.）接种 ZIKV 可导致 Ifnar1 缺失和免疫功能正常的小鼠高效感染，其特征是血液和多个器官（包括大脑、小肠、睾丸和直肠）中广泛的病毒复制，以及强烈的体液和先天免疫反应。此外，给怀孕小鼠肛门内接种 ZIKV 会导致胎盘感染和胎儿发育迟缓。总的来说，我们的研究结果确定了肛门直肠黏膜是小鼠中寨卡病毒感染的潜在部位，揭示了肛门内感染的相关发病机制，并强调了通过肛交传播寨卡病毒的复杂性。
