Zika Virus infection damages the testes in pubertal common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri collinsi)

• Autor(a) principal: Benchimol, Gabriela da Costa
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Santos, Josye Bianca, Lopes, Ana Sophia da Costa, Oliveira, Karol Guimarães, Okada, Eviny Sayuri Trindade, Alcantara, Bianca Nascimento de, Pereira, Washington Luiz Assunção, Leão, Danuza Leite, Martins, Ana Cristina Carneiro, Carneiro, Liliane Almeida, Imbeloni, Aline Amaral, Makiama, Sheila Tetsume, Castro, Luiz Paulo Printes Albarelli de, Coutinho, Leandro Nassar, Casseb, Lívia Medeiros Neves, Vasconcelos, Pedro Fernando da Costa, Domingues, Sheyla Farhayldes Souza, Medeiros, Daniele Barbosa de Almeida, Scalercio, Sarah Raphaella Rocha de Azevedo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
• Texto Completo: https://patua.iec.gov.br/handle/iec/6807
• topic: Primatas / anatomia & histologia; Saimiri / anatomia & histologia; Zika virus / genética; Infecção por Zika virus; Testículo / patologia; Puberdade / genética

During the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak and after evidence of its sexual transmission was obtained, concerns arose about the impact of the adverse effects of ZIKV infection on human fertility. In this study, we evaluated the clinical-laboratory aspects and testicular histopathological patterns of pubertal squirrel monkeys (Saimiri collinsi) infected with ZIKV, analyzing the effects at different stages of infection. The susceptibility of S. collinsi to ZIKV infection was confirmed by laboratory tests, which detected viremia (mean 1.63 × 106 RNA copies/µL) and IgM antibody induction. Reduced fecal testosterone levels, severe testicular atrophy and prolonged orchitis were observed throughout the experiment by ultrasound. At 21 dpi, testicular damage associated with ZIKV was confirmed by histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses. Tubular retraction, the degeneration and necrosis of somatic and germ cells in the seminiferous tubules, the proliferation of interstitial cells and an inflammatory infiltrate were observed. ZIKV antigen was identified in the same cells where tissue injuries were observed. In conclusion, squirrel monkeys were found to be susceptible to the Asian variant of ZIKV, and this model enabled the identification of multifocal lesions in the seminiferous tubules of the infected group evaluated. These findings may suggest an impact of ZIKV infection on male fertility.