Wild-type and innate immune-deficient mice are not susceptible to the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly emerging highly pathogenic virus causing almost 50 % lethality in infected individuals. The development of a small-animal model is critical for the understanding of this virus and to aid in development of countermeasures against...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of general virology 2014-02, Vol.95 (Pt 2), p.408-412
Main Authors: Coleman, Christopher M, Matthews, Krystal L, Goicochea, Lindsay, Frieman, Matthew B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animals
Coronaviridae - pathogenicity
Disease Models, Animal
Disease Resistance
Humans
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Knockout
Mice, SCID
Short Communication
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Summary:The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly emerging highly pathogenic virus causing almost 50 % lethality in infected individuals. The development of a small-animal model is critical for the understanding of this virus and to aid in development of countermeasures against MERS-CoV. We found that BALB/c, 129/SvEv and 129/SvEv STAT1 knockout mice are not permissive to MERS-CoV infection. The lack of infection may be due to the low level of mRNA and protein for the MERS-CoV receptor, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), in the lungs of mice. The low level of DPP4 in the lungs likely contributes to the lack of viral replication in these mouse models and suggests that a transgenic mouse model expressing DPP4 to higher levels is necessary to create a mouse model for MERS-CoV.
ISSN:0022-1317
1465-2099
DOI:10.1099/vir.0.060640-0