Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 29;15(1):9319. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53616-4.
Lassa virus (LASV) outbreaks in West Africa pose a significant public health threat. We investigated the infection phenotype and transmission (horizontal and vertical) of LASV strain Ba366 in its natural host, Mastomys natalensis. Here we analyze viral RNA levels in body fluids, virus titers in organs and antibody presence in blood. In adults and 2-week-old animals, LASV causes transient infections with subsequent seroconversion. However, mice younger than two weeks exhibit persistent infections lasting up to 16 months despite antibody presence. LASV can be detected in various body fluids, organs, and cell types, primarily in lung, kidney, and gonadal epithelial cells. Despite the systemic virus presence, no pathological alterations in organs are observed. Infected animals efficiently transmit the virus throughout their lives. Our findings underscore the crucial role of persistently infected individuals, particularly infected females and their progeny, in LASV dissemination within the host population.
拉沙病毒（LASV）在西非的爆发对公共卫生构成重大威胁。我们研究了其自然宿主——多乳鼠（Mastomys natalensis）中 LASV 株 Ba366 的感染表型和（水平和垂直）传播。在此，我们分析了体液中的病毒 RNA 水平、器官中的病毒滴度以及血液中的抗体存在情况。在成年动物和 2 周龄动物中，LASV 引起短暂感染，随后发生血清转化。然而，小于两周的小鼠会出现持续感染，最长可持续 16 个月，尽管存在抗体。LASV 可在各种体液、器官和细胞类型中检测到，主要在肺、肾和性腺上皮细胞中。尽管存在全身病毒，但未观察到器官的病理改变。感染动物在其整个生命周期中都能有效地传播病毒。我们的研究结果强调了持续感染个体，特别是感染的雌性及其后代，在宿主种群中传播 LASV 的关键作用。
