20Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, 21 belonging to the genus alphavirus in the family Togaviridae. The virus is spread by the 22
Importance 43Although studies have shown association of bone pathology and CHIKV 44 infection, the pathogenesis of infection causing altered bone homeostasis is not fully 45 understood. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that BMMSCs are susceptible to 46 CHIKV infection.Furthermore, we observe that infection causes disruption in the 47 function of BMMSC-derived osteogenic cells. Impaired function of these osteogenic 48 cells will likely lead to a disruption in bone homeostasis and in part, provides a 49 mechanism for the observed bone pathology associated with CHIKV pathogenesis. 50 Keywords 51 Chikungunya virus, mesenchymal stem cells, osteogenic differentiation 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63