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Volume 31, Number 12—December 2025

Research

Guinea Pig Model for Lassa Virus Infection of Reproductive Tract and Considerations for Sexual and Vertical Transmission

Josilene N. Seixas, Joy M. Gary1, Stephen R. Welch, Sarah C. Genzer, JoAnn D. Coleman-McCray, Jessica R. Harmon, Christina F. Spiropoulou, Luciana Silva-Flannery, Georgia Ficarra, Elizabeth Lee, Julu Bhatnagar, Jessica R. Spengler, and Jana M. RitterComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

Figure 5

Detection of Lassa virus (LASV) antigens and RNA in reproductive tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) in strain 13/N male guinea pigs lethally infected with LASV strain Josiah in study of guinea pig model for LASV infection of reproductive tract and considerations for sexual and vertical transmission. A) Epididymis (18 dpi), ISH. Regionally extensive staining in epididymal epithelial cells. B) Epididymis (26 dpi), ISH. Staining in interstitial mesenchymal cells, endothelium (arrow), tubular epithelium (white arrow), and intratubular inflammatory cells (asterisk). C) Testis (18 dpi), ISH. Focal intracellular staining in the interstitium (arrow). D) Epididymis (23 dpi), ISH. Intraluminal staining including spermatozoa (asterisk). E) Seminal vesicle (17 dpi), ISH. Focal staining in subepithelial stromal cells. Original magnifications ×5 (panel A), ×40 (panels B, D), ×63 (panel C), ×20 (panel E).

Figure 5. Detection of Lassa virus (LASV) antigens and RNA in reproductive tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) in strain 13/N male guinea pigs lethally infected with LASV strain Josiah in study of guinea pig model for LASV infection of reproductive tract and considerations for sexual and vertical transmission. A) Epididymis (18 dpi), ISH. Regionally extensive staining in epididymal epithelial cells. B) Epididymis (26 dpi), ISH. Staining in interstitial mesenchymal cells, endothelium (arrow), tubular epithelium (white arrow), and intratubular inflammatory cells (asterisk). C) Testis (18 dpi), ISH. Focal intracellular staining in the interstitium (arrow). D) Epididymis (23 dpi), ISH. Intraluminal staining including spermatozoa (asterisk). E) Seminal vesicle (17 dpi), ISH. Focal staining in subepithelial stromal cells. Original magnifications ×5 (panel A), ×40 (panels B, D), ×63 (panel C), ×20 (panel E).

Main Article

1Current affiliation: StageBio, Frederick, Maryland, USA.

Page created: November 25, 2025
Page updated: January 01, 2026
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The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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