Fig. 1
From: Male germ cells support long-term propagation of Zika virus
Murine male GCs exhibit increased susceptibility to ZIKV infection. a–c qRT-PCR analysis of ZIKV vRNA in ZIKV-infected (IFU = 1 × 108) wild-type CD-1 mice in serum at 0, 2, and 14 dpi (n = 8, 16, and 7, respectively) (a); testis at 0, 7, 14, and 30 dpi (n = 13, 17, 9, and 13, respectively) (b); and testis at 60 dpi (n = 12 for mock-infected and 14 for ZIKV-infected) (c). The dashed line represents the limit of detection. d Sperm count of mock-infected (n = 10) and ZIKV-infected (IFU = 1 × 108) with detectable (ZIKV+; n = 3) and undetectable (ZIKV−; n = 11) vRNA in the testis of wild-type CD-1 mice at 60 dpi. e Testis weight in mock-infected and ZIKV-infected (IFU = 1 × 108) wild-type CD-1 mice at 60 dpi (n = 12 for mock infected and 14 for ZIKV infected). f Hematoxylin and eosin staining of mock, ZIKV−, and ZIKV+ testis at 60 dpi. g, h Mock-infected and ZIKV-infected (MOI = 0.1 PFU per cell) GCs (DDX4), SCs (SOX9), LCs (17β-HSD), and MCs (α-SMA) immunostaining (g) and quantification (n = 5, 3, 5, and 8, respectively, for each group) (h). i Quantification of infectious ZIKV in supernatant of mock-infected and ZIKV-infected (MOI = 0.1 PFU per cell) GCs at 72 hpi by intracellular flow cytometry-based Vero assay (n = 3). Data are presented as mean ± s.e.m. and analyzed by two-sided t test and one-way ANOVA, **p ≤ 0.01, or ****p ≤ 0.0001. Scale bar, 50 μm. ZIKV strain is MR 766
