Mouse epididymisWIKIMEDIA, ZHOU, Q. AND GRISWOLD, M.D.Zika virus (ZIKV) can persist in mouse testes long after the infection is cleared from the blood, and cause atrophy of testicular tissues with potential effects on fertility, according to a study published yesterday (February 22) in Science Advances.
“This study shows how the Zika virus replicates in and damages testes,” Yale University biologist and coauthor Ryuta Uraki said in a statement.
Uraki and his team infected mice with a pathogenic but nonlethal strain of Zika and tracked the animals for several weeks. After 21 days, the virus was undetectable in the bloodstreams of the infected mice, but the researchers found that the infected mice had significantly smaller testes than the control animals. The scientists also noted a reduction in testosterone levels in the blood of the infected mice, suggesting that the testes were also functionally impaired, which could affect fertility.
“Our findings have important implications for nonvector-borne vertical transmission, as well as long-term potential reproductive deficiencies, in ZIKV-infected males,” Uraki and colleagues wrote ...
