PubMed · 12293549
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1998. Spotlight: Ecuador.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12293549/
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BACKGROUND: While Zika virus (ZIKV) is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes, numerous cases of sexual transmission have been reported during recent outbreaks. Little is known about which host cell types or entry factors aid in mediating this sexual transmission. METHODS: In this study, we investigated ZIKV cell tropism by infecting 2 types of human prostate cells with 3 contemporary ZIKV isolates from persons infected in the Americas. We used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence analyses to measure infection and flow cytometry to detect entry factor expression. RESULTS: Here we show that ZIKV infects, replicates, and produces infectious virus in prostate stromal mesenchymal stem cells, epithelial cells, and organoids made with a combination of these cells. We also show that prostate cells express several well-characterized flavivirus attachment factors. In contrast, dengue virus does not infect or does not replicate in these prostate cells, although it is known to use similar receptors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that ZIKV favors infection of stromal cells more so than epithelial cells in organoids, possibly indicating a preference for stem cells in general. Overall, these results suggest that ZIKV replication occurs in the human prostate and can account for ZIKV secretion in semen, thus leading to sexual transmission.
A set of 87 multicase families with systemic lupus erythemathosus (SLE) from European (Iceland, Sweden, England, Norway, Italy, and Greece) and recently admixed (Mexico, Colombia, and the United States) populations were genotyped and analyzed for 62 microsatellite markers on chromosome 1. By parametric two-point linkage analysis, six regions (1p36, 1p21, 1q23, 1q25, 1q31, and 1q43) were identified that have LOD scores of Z>or=1.50, with different contributions, depending on the population of origin of the families (European or admixed American). All of the regions have been described previously and have therefore been confirmed in this analysis. The locus at 1q31 showed a significant three-point LOD score of Z=3.79 and was contributed by families from all populations, with several markers and under the same parametric model. Analysis of a known mutation in the CD45 gene did not support the role that this mutation plays in disease. We conclude that the locus at 1q31 contains a major susceptibility gene, important to SLE in general populations.
Edward Jenner first articulated the concept of eradication when he first inoculated the vaccinia. Before considering a disease for eradication some factors should be considered, such as the biological characteristics of the infectious agent: does the infectious agent infects only humans? Does it have a non-human reservoir and induce long-life immunity after infection? Is there a tool or intervention that effectively interrupts the chain of transmission from one individual to another? The first disease to be eradicated was smallpox. This extraordinary initiative set the example for any future disease eradication program. The eradication of polio from the Americas was launched in May 1985 and the Region of the Americas was certified polio-free in September 1994. At this same year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an initiative to eradicate measles from the Americas. Only 1,500 cases have been reported during the year 2000, and transmission was interrupted in most countries of the Region. Tremendous progress has been achieved in disease eradication efforts, which resulted in the global eradication of smallpox, the eradication of poliomyelitis from the Americas and its nearly global eradication, and the nearly complete eradication of measles from the Americas. The biotechnology revolution is providing us with many new vaccines and we have to continue the search for those diseases that could eventually be eradicated. Eradication of a disease brings the greatest health benefit, which is the absence of the health threat. It is also the quintessential example of health equity, as all mankind reaps the benefits, bringing eternal cost savings. As Louis Pasteur pointed out, "it is within the power of man to eradicate infection from the earth".