Campos Rafael K, Liang Yuejin, Azar Sasha R, Ly Judy, Camargos Vidyleison Neves, Hager-Soto E Eldridge, Eyzaguirre Eduardo, Sun Jiaren, Rossi Shannan L
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Npj Viruses. 2024 Jun 17;2(1):20. doi: 10.1038/s44298-024-00033-5.
Zika virus (ZIKV) causes human testicular inflammation and alterations in sperm parameters and causes testicular damage in mouse models. The involvement of individual immune cells in testicular damage is not fully understood. We detected virus in the testes of the interferon (IFN) α/β receptor A129 mice three weeks post-infection and found elevated chemokines in the testes, suggesting chronic inflammation and long-term infection play a role in testicular damage. In the testes, myeloid cells and CD4 T cells were absent at 7 dpi but were present at 23 days post-infection (dpi), and CD8 T cell infiltration started at 7 dpi. CD8 mice with an antibody-depleted IFN response had a significant reduction in spermatogenesis, indicating that CD8 T cells are essential to prevent testicular damage during long-term ZIKV infections. Our findings on the dynamics of testicular immune cells and the importance of CD8 T cells function as a framework to understand mechanisms underlying observed inflammation and sperm alterations in humans.
寨卡病毒（ZIKV）可导致人类睾丸炎症和精子参数改变，并在小鼠模型中造成睾丸损伤。单个免疫细胞在睾丸损伤中的作用尚未完全明确。我们在感染后三周于干扰素（IFN）α/β受体A129小鼠的睾丸中检测到病毒，并发现睾丸中趋化因子升高，这表明慢性炎症和长期感染在睾丸损伤中起作用。在睾丸中，髓样细胞和CD4 T细胞在感染后7天不存在，但在感染后23天出现，而CD8 T细胞浸润在感染后7天开始。抗体耗尽IFN反应的CD8小鼠精子发生显著减少，表明CD8 T细胞对于在长期寨卡病毒感染期间预防睾丸损伤至关重要。我们关于睾丸免疫细胞动态变化以及CD8 T细胞功能重要性的研究结果，为理解人类中观察到的炎症和精子改变背后的机制提供了一个框架。
