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Review
. 2018 Nov 17;10(11):643.
doi: 10.3390/v10110643.

Humanized Mouse Models for the Study of Infection and Pathogenesis of Human Viruses

Fritz Lai  1   2 , Qingfeng Chen  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Humanized Mouse Models for the Study of Infection and Pathogenesis of Human Viruses

Fritz Lai et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

The evolution of infectious pathogens in humans proved to be a global health problem. Technological advancements over the last 50 years have allowed better means of identifying novel therapeutics to either prevent or combat these infectious diseases. The development of humanized mouse models offers a preclinical in vivo platform for further characterization of human viral infections and human immune responses triggered by these virus particles. Multiple strains of immunocompromised mice reconstituted with a human immune system and/or human hepatocytes are susceptible to infectious pathogens as evidenced by establishment of full viral life cycles in hope of investigating viral⁻host interactions observed in patients and discovering potential immunotherapies. This review highlights recent progress in utilizing humanized mice to decipher human specific immune responses against viral tropism.

Keywords: human immune system; human specific responses; humanized mice; liver chimeras; viral infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declared no conflict of interest.

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