Chunfeng Li: Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
Yong-Qiang Deng: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Shulong Zu: CAS Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
Natalie Quanquin: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Jingzhe Shang: Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
Min Tian: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Xue Ji: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Na-Na Zhang: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Hao-Long Dong: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Yan-Peng Xu: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Xiao-Feng Li: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China.
Aiping Wu: Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
Genhong Cheng: Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China. gcheng@mednet.ucla.edu.
Cheng-Feng Qin: Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, 100071, China. qincf@bmi.ac.cn.
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.
References
N Engl J Med. 2016 Jun 2;374(22):2195-8
[PMID: 27074370]
