Immunoprofiles of human Sertoli cells infected with Zika virus

Using genome-wide RNA-seq to compare immunoprofiles of human sertoli cells, we show that the most prominent response to ZIKV at early stage of infection was suppression of cell growth and proliferation functional pathways. Peak virus replication was associated with induction of multiple antiviral defense pathways. Unique ZIKV-associated signatures included dysregulation of germ cell-Sertoli cell junction signaling. Human Sertoli cells (hSeC) were infected with ZIKV strain PRVABC59 at the multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1 and the virus was detected by plaque assay at 24 hrs post infection (hpi), with peak virus titers of 6 log10 PFU/mL observed at 72 hpi