Zika Virus Infection in Dexamethasone-immunosuppressed Mice Demonstrating Disseminated Infection with Multi-organ Involvement Including Orchitis Effectively Treated by Recombinant Type I Interferons

Chan, Jasper Fuk-Woo; Zhang, Anna Jinxia; Chan, Chris Chung-Sing; Yip, Cyril Chik-Yan; Mak, Winger Wing-Nga; Zhu, Houshun; Poon, Vincent Kwok-Man; Tee, Kah-Meng; Zhu, Zheng; Cai, Jian-Piao; Tsang, Jessica Oi-Ling; Chik, Kenn Ka-Heng; Yin, Feifei; Chan, Kwok-Hung; Kok, Kin-Hang; Jin, Dong-Yan; Au-Yeung, Rex Kwok-Him; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

We are grateful to Can Li, Andrew Chak-Yiu Lee, and Shuofeng Yuan for their facilitation of the study. This work was partly supported by the donations of Larry Chi-Kin Yung, and Hui Hoy and Chow Sin Lan Charity Fund Limited; and funding from the Consultancy Service for Enhancing α β α β A B Fig. 7 . Viral loads in the blood and major organs of dexamethasone-immunosuppressed BALB/c mice with ZIKV inoculation with or without recombinant type I interferon treatment. Male mice with interferon-α2b or -β1b treatment had reduced ZIKV blood and tissue viral loads as compared to untreated mice at (A) 5 dpi (n = 3 per group from two independent experiments) and (B) 14 dpi (n = 6-8 per group from two independent experiments). ZIKV RNA copies in the blood and tissues of the mice were determined by real-time RT-PCR and normalized by β-actin as described in the text. * denotes P-values of b0.05. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.