Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42845459›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

Spondweni virus infection in pregnant rhesus macaques causes placental pathology without apparent fetal harm.

Hunter J Ries, Livia Romanov, Maria C Charles, Chelsea M Crooks, Carson DePagter, Alex Richardson, Grace A VanSleet, Andrea M Weiler, Jens C Eickhoff, Katharina S Stewart and 13 more

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Hunter J RiesDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7280-4399
Livia RomanovDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Maria C CharlesDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-9442-7468
Chelsea M CrooksDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3874-4577
Carson DePagterDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-4604-0028
Alex RichardsonWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Grace A VanSleetWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Andrea M WeilerWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Jens C EickhoffDepartment of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Katharina S StewartDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Leandro B C TeixeiraDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Eric PetersonWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5093-0631
Michele SchotzkoWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Heather A SimmonsWisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Jenna R RosinskiDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Lauren E RaaschDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0280-3678
Anna S JaegerDepartment of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8955-029X
Elaina R RazoDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Emma L MohrDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0742-305X
David H O'ConnorDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Christina M NewmanDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Matthew T AliotaDepartment of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6902-9149
Thomas C FriedrichDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9831-6895

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic revealed the potential of flaviviruses to emerge rapidly, cause severe disease, and affect pregnancy outcomes. In 2016, Spondweni virus (SPOV), the closest known relative of ZIKV, was detected in mosquitoes in Haiti, suggesting it may also have the potential to emerge in the Western Hemisphere. The risks that close relatives of ZIKV pose to pregnant individuals are not well understood. Previously, we showed that SPOV can cause fetal demise, placental pathology, and vertical transmission in a mouse model. Here we report SPOV's pathogenic potential in pregnant rhesus macaques. We inoculated four macaques with SPOV at gestational day 30 (early first trimester) and compared their viral loads and fetal outcomes with those of macaques infected in the first trimester with either African-lineage ZIKV (ZIKV-DAK) or an Asian-lineage ZIKV isolate from Puerto Rico (ZIKV-PR) in previous studies. Plasma viremia persisted 10-31 days in SPOV-inoculated dams, whereas viremia resolved within 10-17 days for ZIKV-DAK and 5-52 days for ZIKV-PR. Cesarean deliveries near term (gestational day 152-157) revealed no demise, premature birth, or gross abnormalities in fetuses of dams inoculated with SPOV or ZIKV-PR. In contrast, under near-identical conditions, all ZIKV-DAK-inoculated dams experienced fetal demise between 12 and 20 days post-inoculation. At cesarean section, we did not detect SPOV RNA above the limit of detection in maternal (e.g., spleen, liver), placental, or fetal tissues, in contrast to previous findings with ZIKV-PR. Histological analysis revealed mononuclear/lymphohistiocytic villitis in all placentas of SPOV-exposed macaques, along with other pathological changes in individual placentas. Our findings suggest that SPOV infection of macaques in early pregnancy may result in placental pathology without overt fetal harm. Our results suggest that flaviviruses in the Spondweni serocomplex, which includes ZIKV and SPOV, may vary in their pathogenic potential during pregnancy.

Indexed as

fetal growthnon-human primatesplacental pathologypregnancyrhesus macaquesSpondweni virusZika virus

Identifiers

PMID42845459
PMCPMC13640649

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.