University of Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail)-UMR_S1085, Rennes, France.
Physiol Rev. 2020 Jul 1;100(3):1349-1414. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00021.2019. Epub 2020 Feb 7.
The male genital tract (MGT) is the target of a number of viral infections that can have deleterious consequences at the individual, offspring, and population levels. These consequences include infertility, cancers of male organs, transmission to the embryo/fetal development abnormalities, and sexual dissemination of major viral pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus. Lately, two emerging viruses, Zika and Ebola, have additionally revealed that the human MGT can constitute a reservoir for viruses cleared from peripheral circulation by the immune system, leading to their sexual transmission by cured men. This represents a concern for future epidemics and further underlines the need for a better understanding of the interplay between viruses and the MGT. We review here how viruses, from ancient viruses that integrated the germline during evolution through old viruses (e.g., papillomaviruses originating from Neanderthals) and more modern sexually transmitted infections (e.g., simian zoonotic HIV) to emerging viruses (e.g., Ebola and Zika) take advantage of genital tract colonization for horizontal dissemination, viral persistence, vertical transmission, and endogenization. The MGT immune responses to viruses and the impact of these infections are discussed. We summarize the latest data regarding the sources of viruses in semen and the complex role of this body fluid in sexual transmission. Finally, we introduce key animal findings that are relevant for our understanding of viral infection and persistence in the human MGT and suggest future research directions.
男性生殖系统是多种病毒感染的靶器官，这些病毒感染可能会对个体、后代和人群产生有害影响。这些后果包括不育、男性器官癌症、传播给胚胎/胎儿导致发育异常，以及主要病毒病原体（如人类免疫缺陷病毒[HIV]和乙型肝炎病毒）的性传播。最近，两种新兴病毒，寨卡病毒和埃博拉病毒，还表明人类 MGT 可以成为免疫系统从外周循环中清除的病毒的储库，从而导致治愈的男性通过性传播这些病毒。这对未来的传染病构成了威胁，并进一步强调了更好地理解病毒与 MGT 之间相互作用的必要性。我们在这里回顾了病毒如何利用生殖道定植进行水平传播、病毒持续存在、垂直传播和内源性化，包括在进化过程中整合到生殖细胞系中的古老病毒、来自尼安德特人的旧病毒（例如，乳头瘤病毒）以及更现代的性传播感染（例如，猴源动物 HIV）到新兴病毒（例如，埃博拉病毒和寨卡病毒）。讨论了 MGT 对病毒的免疫反应以及这些感染的影响。我们总结了有关精液中病毒来源的最新数据，以及该体液在性传播中的复杂作用。最后，我们介绍了与我们对人类 MGT 中病毒感染和持续存在的理解相关的关键动物研究结果，并提出了未来的研究方向。
