Fig. 1.

Model to study the effects of miRNA targeting on ZIKV tissue tropism and pathogenesis. a Schematics of ZIKV-NS3m and 2×scr viral genomes. Green boxes indicate position of scr sequence insertions. b Survival of AG129 mice inoculated ip with 10⁶ pfu of ZIKV-NS3m, 2×scr virus or with a diluent (mock). c–g Growth kinetics of ZIKV-NS3m and 2×scr viruses in the serum c, spleen d, brain e, testis f, or epididymis g of adult AG129 male mice inoculated ip with 10⁶ pfu of virus. Mean viral load in the serum or organ homogenates (n = 3–7 per time point) ± standard deviation (SD; shown as error bars) was determined by titration in Vero cells. The dashed lines indicate the limit of virus detection: 1.5 log₁₀(pfu/mL) for serum c, 1.7 log₁₀(pfu/g) for spleen, brain, or testis d–f, and 0.7 log₁₀(pfu/mouse) for epididymis g