Antioxidants Prevent Sexual Transmission Of Zika Virus In Mice

The antioxidant drug ebselen can prevent sexual transmission of Zika from male to female mice, according to research by scientists in Taiwan.

AsianScientist (Feb. 22, 2018) – In a study published in PLOS Pathogens, scientists in Taiwan have demonstrated that the antioxidant drug ebselen can prevent sexual transmission of Zika virus from male to female mice.

Zika virus usually causes mild symptoms in humans but has been linked with congenital microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The virus jumps from person to person primarily via mosquitos carrying the disease, but recent research suggests that sexual transmission is also possible—most often from men to women. In the absence of approved drugs or vaccines for Zika infection, researchers are exploring opportunities to prevent transmission.

In this study, a research group led by Dr. Yogy Simanjuntak and colleagues at Academia Sinica, Taiwan, discovered that ebselen, an antioxidant drug, could prevent the sexual transmission of the Zika virus from male to female mice. The research team first examined the effects of Zika infection on mouse testicular tissue. They found that the virus damaged cells, impaired normal gene expression, damaged sperm and infected sperm cells themselves.

Notably, Zika caused signs of increased testicular inflammation and oxidative stress, a condition characterized by high levels of potentially damaging byproducts of normal cellular processes known as reactive oxygen species.

Next, the researchers treated infected mice with ebselen, an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drug that can neutralize reactive oxygen species. They found that ebselen both alleviated testicular symptoms and prevented sexual transmission of Zika via sperm from infected male mice to uninfected female mice.

While further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of ebselen, these findings suggest a potential role for the drug in treating and preventing transmission of Zika in humans. Ebselen is already being investigated in clinical trials as a treatment for other diseases, including acute ischemic stroke.


The article can be found at: Simanjuntak et al. (2018) Ebselen Alleviates Testicular Pathology in Mice with Zika Virus Infection and Prevents its Sexual Transmission.

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Source: PLOS; Photo: Shutterstock.
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