Interferon epsilon is produced in the testis and protects the male reproductive tract against virus infection, inflammation and damage
Fig 5
Ifne-/- mice show testicular immune infiltrates and NLRP3 inflammasome gene upregulation 7 days post-Zika virus infection.
(A) Immunofluorescence staining for F4/80+ immune cells (yellow) in the testes of Zika infected Ifne-/- and WT mice, and graph quantifying F4/80+ cells per testis cross section. Arrow: immune cell aggregates. Blue: DAPI. Scale bar: 20 μm. (B) Gene transcripts related to immune cells and the NLRP3 inflammasome measured by qRT-PCR in testes from WT (grey bars), Ifne-/- (pink bars) and Ifnar1-/- (green bars) mice infected with Zika virus, compared to PBS injected controls. (n = 8–10 per group. One-Way ANOVA for graph in Fig 5A, 2-Way ANOVA for 5B, *P < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001).