Pathogenesis and Immune Response Caused by Vector-Borne and Other Viral Infections in a Tupaia Model

Abstract

The Tupaia or tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri), a small mammal of the Tupaiidae family, is an increasingly used and promising infection model for virological and immunological research. Recently, sequencing of the Tupaia whole genome revealed that it is more homologous to the genome of humans than of rodents. Viral infections are a global threat to human health, and a complex series of events are involved in the interactions between a virus and the host immune system, which play important roles in the activation of an immune response and the outcome of an infection. Majority of immune response data in viral infections are obtained from studies using animal models that enhance the understanding of host-virus interactions; a proper understanding of these interactions is very important for the development of effective antivirals and prophylactics. Therefore, animal models that are permissive to infection and that recapitulate human disease pathogenesis and immune responses to viral infections are essential. Several studies have shown the permissiveness of Tupaia to a number of important human viral infections in vitro and in vivo without prior adaptation of the viruses; the immune responses and clinical manifestations were comparable to those observed in human infections. Thus, the Tupaia is being utilized and developed as a promising immunocompetent small animal model for viral infection studies. In this review, we focused on the immune responses, mostly innate, during viral infection and pathogenesis in the Tupaia model; we evaluated the interaction between the virus and the components of host resistance, the usefulness of this model for immunopathogenesis studies, and the vaccines and antivirals available.

Coronavirus disease 2019 and future pandemics: Impacts on livestock health and production and possible mitigation measures

“…In South Africa, a zoo puma tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after coming in contact with an infected handler [30]. Tree shrews [31], a successful laboratory animal, were found to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection in an experimental setting [32]. A recent experimental infection in cattle revealed moderate susceptibility [6].…”

Mammalian animal models for dengue virus infection: a recent overview

“…The tree shrew is an emerging experimental animal model with a higher degree of genetic similarity to primates than to rodents [33,101]. Previous studies have demonstrated that tree shrews are a promising animal model for several important viral infections in humans, including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, influenza virus, and ZIKV [59]. In an in vitro study, we showed the susceptibility of tupaia lung fibroblast cells to infection with all four DENV serotypes [58].…”

Oncolytic Viral Therapy for Glioma by Recombinant Sindbis Virus

“…At this stage, the whole genome of the tree shrew has been sequenced, and because the neural, immune, and other systems of this species are similar to those of humans [53], this has led to the tree shrew being used in studies of different disease models, including depression [54], cancer [55], and viral infections [56]. In our work, the susceptibility to sindbis virus was also studied in the nervous system of the tree shrew.…”