Excretion of Cell-Free and Cell-Associated Zika Virus into Breast Milk of Infected Dams and Identification of Antiviral Factors.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne RNA virus belonging to the genus of the family. During the 60 years following its discovery in 1947, ZIKV caused little concern for public health as the associated infection was reported as mostly asymptomatic or inducing mild symptoms. However, since 2013, severe neurological symptoms have been associated with ZIKV infection, compelling the World Health Organization to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Zika Virus Requires the Expression of Claudin-7 for Optimal Replication in Human Endothelial Cells.

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with a series of neurological pathologies. In patients with ZIKV-induced neurological disorders, the virus is detectable in the central nervous system. Thus, ZIKV is capable of neuroinvasion, presumably through infection of the endothelial cells that constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Mother-to-Child Transmission of Arboviruses during Breastfeeding: From Epidemiology to Cellular Mechanisms.

Most viruses use several entry sites and modes of transmission to infect their host (parenteral, sexual, respiratory, oro-fecal, transplacental, transcutaneous, etc.). Some of them are known to be essentially transmitted via arthropod bites (mosquitoes, ticks, phlebotomes, sandflies, etc.

Revisiting Koch's postulate to determine the plausibility of viral transmission by human milk.

As breastfeeding is of utmost importance for child development and survival, identifying whether breast milk is a route of transmission for human viruses is critical. Based on the principle of Koch's postulate, we propose an analytical framework to determine the plausibility of viral transmission by breast milk. This framework is based on five criteria: viral infection in children receiving breast milk from infected mothers; the presence of virus, viral antigen, or viral genome in the breast milk of infected mothers; the evidence for the virus in breast milk being infectious; the attempts to rule out other transmission modalities; and the reproduction of viral transmission by oral inoculation in an animal model.

Evidence That Zika Virus Is Transmitted by Breastfeeding to Newborn A129 ( Knock-Out) Mice and Is Able to Infect and Cross a Tight Monolayer of Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells.

Zika virus (ZIKV) belongs to the genus in the family. Mainly transmitted via mosquito bites (, ), ZIKV has been classified in the large category of arthropod-borne viruses, or arboviruses. However, during the past two outbreaks in French Polynesia (2013-2014) and Latin America (2015-2016), several cases of ZIKV human-to-human transmission were reported, either vertically via transplacental route but also horizontally after sexual intercourse.

Differentiation-dependent susceptibility of human muscle cells to Zika virus infection.

Muscle cells are potential targets of many arboviruses, such as Ross River, Dengue, Sindbis, and chikungunya viruses, that may be involved in the physiopathological course of the infection. During the recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV), myalgia was one of the most frequently reported symptoms. We investigated the susceptibility of human muscle cells to ZIKV infection.

Arboviruses and Muscle Disorders: From Disease to Cell Biology.

Infections due to arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) have dramatically increased worldwide during the last few years. In humans, symptoms associated with acute infection of most arboviruses are often described as "dengue-like syndrome", including fever, rash, conjunctivitis, arthralgia, and muscular symptoms such as myalgia, myositis, or rhabdomyolysis. In some cases, muscular symptoms may persist over months, especially following flavivirus and alphavirus infections.

Productive Infection of Mouse Mammary Glands and Human Mammary Epithelial Cells by Zika Virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV) belongs to the large category of arboviruses. Surprisingly, several human-to-human transmissions of ZIKV have been notified, either following sexual intercourse or from the mother to fetus during pregnancy. Importantly, high viral loads have been detected in the human breast milk of infected mothers, and the existence of breastfeeding as a new mode of mother-to-child transmission of ZIKV was recently hypothesized.

A Human Blood-Brain Interface Model to Study Barrier Crossings by Pathogens or Medicines and Their Interactions with the Brain.

The early screening of nervous system medicines on a pertinent and reliable in cellulo BBB model for their penetration and their interaction with the barrier and the brain parenchyma is still an unmet need. To fill this gap, we designed a 2D in cellulo model, the BBB-Minibrain, by combining a polyester porous membrane culture insert human BBB model with a Minibrain formed by a tri-culture of human brain cells (neurons, astrocytes and microglial cells). The BBB-Minibrain allowed us to test the transport of a neuroprotective drug candidate (e.

Clinical and virological factors associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with acute respiratory infection: a two-year prospective study in general practice medicine.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and nausea are not an uncommon manifestation of an acute respiratory infection (ARI). We therefore evaluated clinical and microbiological factors associated with the presence of GI symptoms in patients consulting a general practitioner (GP) for ARI.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs, stool specimens and clinical data from patients presenting to GPs with an ARI were prospectively collected during two winter seasons (2014-2016).

Risk factors for seasonal influenza virus detection in stools of patients consulting in general practice for acute respiratory infections in France, 2014-2016.

Background: Previous studies reported detection of influenza RNA in stools of patients with seasonal influenza infection. While this detection may have a clinical significance, other factors may influence the stool positivity for influenza viruses.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate demographical, clinical, and microbiological factors which could favor the presence of influenza viral RNA in the stools of patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza infection.

HTLV-1-induced leukotriene B4 secretion by T cells promotes T cell recruitment and virus propagation.

The human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is efficiently transmitted through cellular contacts. While the molecular mechanisms of viral cell-to-cell propagation have been extensively studied in vitro, those facilitating the encounter between infected and target cells remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that HTLV-1-infected CD4 T cells secrete a potent chemoattractant, leukotriene B4 (LTB4).

HTLV-1 and host barriers interactions.

HTLV-1 (Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1) is a human retrovirus that infects around 10 million people worldwide. It can be transmitted by sexual contact, transfusion of contaminated blood, and from infected mother-to-child during prolonged breastfeeding. The latter involves viral crossing of the digestive tract.

Mother-to-Child Transmission of HTLV-1 Epidemiological Aspects, Mechanisms and Determinants of Mother-to-Child Transmission.

Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a human retrovirus that infects at least 5-10 million people worldwide, and is the etiological agent of a lymphoproliferative malignancy; Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL); and a chronic neuromyelopathy, HTLV-1 Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP), as well as other inflammatory diseases such as infective dermatitis and uveitis. Besides sexual intercourse and intravenous transmission, HTLV-1 can also be transmitted from infected mother to child during prolonged breastfeeding. Some characteristics that are linked to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HTLV-1, such as the role of proviral load, antibody titer of the infected mother, and duration of breastfeeding, have been elucidated; however, most of the mechanisms underlying HTLV-1 transmission during breast feeding remain largely unknown, such as the sites of infection and cellular targets as well as the role of milk factors.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) muscle satellite cells are targets of salmonid alphavirus infection.

Sleeping disease in rainbow trout is characterized by an abnormal swimming behaviour of the fish which stay on their side at the bottom of the tanks. This sign is due to extensive necrosis and atrophy of red skeletal muscle induced by the sleeping disease virus (SDV), also called salmonid alphavirus 2. Infections of humans with arthritogenic alphaviruses, such as Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), are global causes of debilitating musculoskeletal diseases.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with influenza, clinical significance, and pathophysiology of human influenza viruses in faecal samples: what do we know?

This review provides for the first time an assessment of the current understanding about the occurrence and the clinical significance of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in influenza patients, and their correlation with the presence of human influenza viruses in stools of patients with confirmed influenza virus infection. Studies exploring how human influenza viruses spread to the patient's GI tract after a primary respiratory infection have been summarized. We conducted a systematic search of published peer-reviewed literature up to June 2015 with regard to the above-mentioned aspects, focusing on human influenza viruses (A(H1N1), A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), and B).

Productive infection of human skeletal muscle cells by pandemic and seasonal influenza A(H1N1) viruses.

Besides the classical respiratory and systemic symptoms, unusual complications of influenza A infection in humans involve the skeletal muscles. Numerous cases of acute myopathy and/or rhabdomyolysis have been reported, particularly following the outbreak of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in 2009. The pathogenesis of these influenza-associated myopathies (IAM) remains unkown, although the direct infection of muscle cells is suspected.

HTLV-1-associated inflammatory myopathies: low proviral load and moderate inflammation in 13 patients from West Indies and West Africa.

Background: The Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of several inflammatory diseases, including HTLV-1-associated inflammatory myopathies (HAIM). Little is known about the virological and immunological characteristics of this viral disease.

Objectives: To characterize the histological and virological features of HAIM patients, in order to better understand the pathogenetic mechanisms and unravel new biological markers of this disease.

Prolonged myalgia in Sindbis virus infection: case description and in vitro infection of myotubes and myoblasts.

Background: Sindbis virus (SINV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus found in Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Clinical SINV infection is characterized by febrile rash and arthritis and sometimes prolonged arthralgia and myalgia. The pathophysiological mechanisms of musculoskeletal and rheumatic disease caused by SINV are inadequately understood.

Transcytosis of HTLV-1 across a tight human epithelial barrier and infection of subepithelial dendritic cells.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. In addition to blood transfusion and sexual transmission, HTLV-1 is transmitted mainly through prolonged breastfeeding, and such infection represents a major risk for the development of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. Although HTLV-1-infected lymphocytes can be retrieved from maternal milk, the mechanisms of HTLV-1 transmission through the digestive tract remain unknown.

Blood-brain barrier and retroviral infections.

Homeostasis in the central nervous system (CNS) is maintained by active interfaces between the bloodstream and the brain parenchyma. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) constitutes a selective filter for exchange of water, solutes, nutrients, and controls toxic compounds or pathogens entry. Some parasites, bacteria, and viruses have however developed various CNS invasion strategies, and can bypass the brain barriers.

Preclinical studies of a modified vaccinia virus Ankara-based HIV candidate vaccine: antigen presentation and antiviral effect.

Poxvirus-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine candidates are currently under evaluation in preclinical and clinical trials. Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vectors have excellent safety and immunogenicity records, but their behavior in human cell cultures remains only partly characterized. We studied here various virological and immunological aspects of the interactions of MVA-HIV, a vaccine candidate developed by the French National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS), with primary human cells.

Alteration of blood-brain barrier integrity by retroviral infection.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), which forms the interface between the blood and the cerebral parenchyma, has been shown to be disrupted during retroviral-associated neuromyelopathies. Human T Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV-1) Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with BBB breakdown. The BBB is composed of three cell types: endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes.

Inhibition of Chikungunya virus infection in cultured human muscle cells by furin inhibitors: impairment of the maturation of the E2 surface glycoprotein.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted Alphavirus that causes in humans an acute infection characterized by polyarthralgia, fever, myalgia, and headache. Since 2005 this virus has been responsible for an epidemic outbreak of unprecedented magnitude. By analogy with other alphaviruses, it is thought that cellular proteases are able to process the viral precursor protein E3E2 to produce the receptor-binding E2 protein that associates as a heterodimer with E1.