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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Communications

Conserved pathogenesis of ancestral and contemporary Oropouche virus strains in a murine pregnancy model

  • Krista B. Gunter1
  • James M. Bowen1
  • Andrew T. Clarke2
  • Melanie McFarlane2
  • Dorcus C. A. Omoga1
  • Stephanie Pozuelos1
  • Henry Giesel1
  • Curtis Witt1
  • Lisa M. Rogers3
  • David Michael Aronoff3
  • Andrew Tilston-Lünel4
  • Jay Vornhagen1
2 more authors
  • Benjamin Brennan2
  • Natasha L. Tilston‐Lunel5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
  2. 2MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
  3. 3Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
  4. 4Department of Pediatrics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
  5. 5Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. [email protected]
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Abstract

Oropouche virus (OROV) is an emerging orthobunyavirus responsible for widespread outbreaks across South and Central America. Recent reports of congenital disease have raised urgent concerns regarding the potential risk of OROV infection during pregnancy. Here, we establish an in vivo murine model of OROV vertical transmission using the ancestral (prototype) strain BeAn19991 in immunocompetent C57BL/6 J mice. We demonstrate that OROV robustly replicates in maternal tissues and efficiently infects the placenta. Complementary studies in human trophoblast-derived cell lines demonstrate conserved placental tropism across both the ancestral strain and a contemporary (outbreak) isolate, supporting the translational relevance of our findings. Notably, comparison of ancestral and contemporary viruses indicates that placental infection is not a recently acquired property of OROV. Further, offspring born to infected dams exhibit maternally derived neutralizing antibodies and transient protection upon postnatal challenge. Together, these findings, considered alongside emerging epidemiological evidence, identify pregnancy as a critical context for OROV infection and underscore the need to evaluate risks to pregnant individuals in endemic regions.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{gunter2026conserved,
  title = {{Conserved pathogenesis of ancestral and contemporary Oropouche virus strains in a murine pregnancy model}},
  author = {Krista B. Gunter and James M. Bowen and Andrew T. Clarke and Melanie McFarlane and Dorcus C. A. Omoga and Stephanie Pozuelos and Henry Giesel and Curtis Witt and Lisa M. Rogers and David Michael Aronoff and Andrew Tilston-Lünel and Jay Vornhagen and Benjamin Brennan and Natasha L. Tilston‐Lunel},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Conserved pathogenesis of ancestral and contemporary Oropouche virus strains in a murine pregnancy model
AU  - Krista B. Gunter
AU  - James M. Bowen
AU  - Andrew T. Clarke
AU  - Melanie McFarlane
AU  - Dorcus C. A. Omoga
AU  - Stephanie Pozuelos
AU  - Henry Giesel
AU  - Curtis Witt
AU  - Lisa M. Rogers
AU  - David Michael Aronoff
AU  - Andrew Tilston-Lünel
AU  - Jay Vornhagen
AU  - Benjamin Brennan
AU  - Natasha L. Tilston‐Lunel
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/12
JO  - Nature Communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2
AB  - Oropouche virus (OROV) is an emerging orthobunyavirus responsible for widespread outbreaks across South and Central America. Recent reports of congenital disease have raised urgent concerns regarding the potential risk of OROV infection during pregnancy. Here, we establish an in vivo murine model of OROV vertical transmission using the ancestral (prototype) strain BeAn19991 in immunocompetent C57BL/6 J mice. We demonstrate that OROV robustly replicates in maternal tissues and efficiently infects the placenta. Complementary studies in human trophoblast-derived cell lines demonstrate conserved placental tropism across both the ancestral strain and a contemporary (outbreak) isolate, supporting the translational relevance of our findings. Notably, comparison of ancestral and contemporary viruses indicates that placental infection is not a recently acquired property of OROV. Further, offspring born to infected dams exhibit maternally derived neutralizing antibodies and transient protection upon postnatal challenge. Together, these findings, considered alongside emerging epidemiological evidence, identify pregnancy as a critical context for OROV infection and underscore the need to evaluate risks to pregnant individuals in endemic regions.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -