Getah Virus Infection Rapidly Causes Testicular Damage and Decreases Sperm Quality in Male Mice

Abstract

Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic arbovirus that can cause infection in many animals. It can cause pyrexia and reproductive losses in animals. The objective of the study was to explore the effects of GETV on male reproductive ability. Male mice were injected with 100 × TCID50/0.1 ml in a volume of 100-μL GETV in their hindquarter muscle, resulting in decreased semen quality and testicular histopathological changes, and the virus was detected in the testes. At 0.5 dpi (day post-infection), male mice showed decreased sperm density, motility, and decreased serum testosterone concentration, an increased sperm malformation rate, vacuoles in spermatogonial cells/spermatocytes in spermatogenic tubules, and the highest virus copies in testis. At 2 dpi, the sperm density and motility reached the lowest value of 3.99 × 106/ml and 62.03%, and the malformation rate reached 43.67%. At 28 dpi, the sperm indexes of the experimental group gradually approached that of the control group, but there were still significant differences. Since then, histopathological changes have worsened, with the most severe histopathological changes at 7 dpi and gradual recovery. Up to 14 dpi, the virus was detected by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, which showed that the virus was only present in the testicular interstitium. GETV infection can rapidly enter the testis of mice and reduce the semen quality of mice, which needs to be paid attention to in the prevention and control of GETV.

Infectivity and pathogenesis characterization of getah virus (GETV) strain via different inoculation routes in mice

“…The results showed that all three infection methods could detect the presence of GETV in all tissues within 24 h of infection, but the order of tissue invasion by different infection methods was different. Li [ 20 ] showed that after intramuscular injection of GETV in mice, the virus appeared in the testicular and caused testicular histopathological changes and decreased semen quality and testosterone levels, which is consistent with our findings. Yang [ 21 ] also found that GETV was detected in multiple organs of getv-infected piglets, indicating that GETV can infect different species with multiple tissue tropisms.…”

Syrian Hamsters Model Does Not Reflect Human-like Disease after Aerosol Exposure to Encephalitic Alphaviruses

“…Reproductive organs: Since alphaviruses are capable of replicating in the reproductive organs [ 36 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], viral antigen and histology was examined in the reproductive organs after aerosol exposure. The time points alternated between males and females with males being used at 12, 36, and 60 hpi while females were used at 24, 48, and 72 hpi.…”

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infects the reproductive system of male piglets and impairs development of the blood–testis barrier

“…Generally, testicular inflammation results in tissue swelling and congestion, leading to an increased tissue weight [ 32 ]. At 7 and 30 dpc, the testicular TSIs in the infected groups were significantly higher than those in the mock-infected group ( p < 0.01; Figure 4a ).…”