Viral infection was first assessed using an immunostaining approach: we observed the ability of the two RVFV strains to infect at 1 day post-infection (dpi) hEC (labeled specifically with the ZO-1 TJ marker) (Fig. 1A) and pericytes (labeled specifically with the PDGFRβ marker) (Fig. 1B). This evidence concerns the gene TJP1 and infection.