Influenza-Mediated Lung Infection Models

Abstract

Laboratory rodent influenza infection models have been and continue to be a critical tool for understanding virus-host interactions during infection. The incidence of seasonal influenza infections coupled with the need for novel therapeutics and universal vaccines highlights the need to uncover novel mechanisms of pathogenesis and protection. Mouse models are extremely useful for the evaluation of influenza vaccines and provide an invaluable tool to probe the immune response. This chapter describes the technique of intranasal inoculation of male C57BL/6J mice with an H1N1 strain of influenza (A/Puerto Rico/8/1934) and methods for assessing the optimum dose for infection, viral titers in lung tissue, and severity of disease.

Keywords: Body weight loss; Focus-forming units; H1N1; Influenza; Intranasal inoculation; Lung damage.

Figure 1

Picture illustrating the intranasal inoculation of virus to an anesthetized mouse.

Figure 2

Percentage of weight loss of male C57BL/6 mice after saline or PR8 infection (either 1275 or 1700 FFU). Mice were euthanized if they lost more than 20% of their original body weight.

Figure 3

Lung histology of C57BL/6 mouse after saline or PR8 infection (day 3 or 7 post infection (p.i.)). H&E stain shown at 200×magnification.

Figure 4

Percentage of survival of male C57BL/6 mice after saline or PR8 infection (either 1275, 1700, or 2000 FFU). Mice were euthanized if they lost more than 20% of their original body weight per institutional animal use guidelines.