Immune Response to Chikungunya Virus: Sex as a Biological Variable and Implications for Natural Delivery via the Mosquito
2023
Meagan Taylor | Jonathan O. Rayner
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus with significant public health implications around the world. Climate change, as well as rapid urbanization, threatens to expand the population range of <i>Aedes</i> vector mosquitoes globally, increasing CHIKV cases worldwide in return. Epidemiological data suggests a sex-dependent response to CHIKV infection. In this review, we draw attention to the importance of studying sex as a biological variable by introducing epidemiological studies from previous CHIKV outbreaks. While the female sex appears to be a risk factor for chronic CHIKV disease, the male sex has recently been suggested as a risk factor for CHIKV-associated death; however, the underlying mechanisms for this phenotype are unknown. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of including mosquito salivary components when studying the immune response to CHIKV. As with other vector-transmitted pathogens, CHIKV has evolved to use these salivary components to replicate more extensively in mammalian hosts; however, the response to natural transmission of CHIKV has not been fully elucidated.
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