Ebola virus infection of the female reproductive system

总结/摘要 埃博拉病毒（丝状病毒科）是埃博拉病毒病（EVD）的病原体，其特征在于： 人类出血热，死亡率高达40%以上。埃博拉病毒的性传播 在2014-2016年西非大爆发期间首次记录了男性幸存者对女性的影响。那么这 据报道，感染途径可能是2015年至2019年期间多次EBOV爆发的原因。 2016.幸存者的精液活力后来被记录为至少179天后的疾病发作。 在同一次爆发期间，性行为在病毒传播中所起作用的数学模型 表明，禁欲，沿着传染病患者隔离，可以阻止疫情的爆发。截至2020年6月2日， 刚果民主共和国正在发生的埃博拉病毒疫情描述了3463例病例，2280例死亡， 没有数据表明哪种感染途径是主要的传播途径， 幸存者的情况意识，以传播EVD。最近，我们的团队证明了人类阴道 上皮细胞易受埃博拉病毒感染，支持生产性病毒复制， 强烈的促炎反应。此外，我们评估了阴道聚苯的抗病毒效果， 羧甲基（PPCM）杀微生物剂作为对策，可抑制病毒复制 和病毒诱导的炎症反应。总而言之，这些事实支持迫切需要 为这种感染途径开发新的实验模型，并开发预防病毒传播的治疗方法， 无保护的性交 我们的长期目标是更好地了解埃博拉病毒的性传播， 避孕套以外的方法。该提案的目的是调查妇女中埃博拉病毒的发病机制 性传播后，也使用人类女性生殖系统的相关体外模型， 作为易感小鼠模型。我们的中心假设是，人类女性生殖系统是 易受埃博拉病毒感染，导致EVD的非典型临床表现， 与使用其他更有记录的途径感染埃博拉病毒后观察到的特征相比， 感染为了质疑我们的驱动假说，我们提出了以下具体目标：（1）表征 使用培养的人阴道上皮细胞模型进行体外埃博拉病毒感染和炎症 （2）建立阴道内注射后的埃博拉病毒病（Ebola Virus Disease，EVD）体内模型 病毒攻击;（3）评价PPCM在体外和体内的抗病毒保护效力。的 拟议的研究将开发用于丝状病毒致病性研究的新模型，并进一步开发PPCM， 一种治疗埃博拉病毒感染的杀菌剂

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Ebola virus (family Filoviridae) is the causative agent of Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is characterized by hemorrhagic fever in humans, reaching high mortality rates (≥40%). Sexual transmission of Ebola virus from a male survivor to a woman was first documented during the large 2014-2016 West African outbreak. Then this route of infection was reported to be likely responsible for multiple EBOV outbreak flare-ups between 2015 and 2016. Infectivity of the semen of survivors was later documented for at least 179 days after the onset of disease. Mathematical modelling of the contribution of sexual behavior in virus transmission during that same outbreak showed that abstinence, along with infectious patient isolation, could stop an outbreak. As of June 2nd, 2020, the on-going EBOV outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo describes 3463 cases with 2280 deaths, and there are no data available as to which route of infection is primarily responsible of transmission and the situational awareness of survivors to spread EVD. Recently, our group demonstrated that human vaginal epithelial cells are susceptible to infection with Ebola virus, support productive viral replication resulting in a robust proinflammatory response. Furthermore, we evaluated the antiviral efficacy of the vaginal Polyphenylene Carboxymethylene (PPCM) microbicide as a countermeasure and could show suppression of virus replication and virus-induced inflammatory response in these cells. Altogether, these facts support the critical need to develop new experimental models for this route of infection and therapeutics preventing virus transmission during unprotected sexual intercourse. Our long-term goal is to better understand sexual transmission of Ebola virus, and to identify prophylactic methods other than condoms. The objective in this proposal is to investigate Ebola virus pathogenesis in women following sexual transmission using a relevant in-vitro model of the human female reproductive system as well as a susceptible mouse model. Our central hypothesis is that the human female reproductive system is susceptible to Ebola virus infection leading to atypical clinical manifestations of EVD and laboratory characteristics compared to those observed after infection by Ebola virus using other more documented routes of infection. To interrogate our driving hypothesis, we propose the following Specific Aims: (1) Characterize Ebola virus infection and inflammation in-vitro using a model of the human vaginal epithelium cultured at air-liquid interface, (2) Establish an in-vivo model of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) following intravaginal virus challenge, and (3) Evaluate the protective antiviral efficacy of PPCM in-vitro and in-vivo. The proposed studies will develop novel models for research of filovirus pathogenicity and further develop PPCM as a microbicide for Ebola virus infection.