Prince G A, Porter D D
Am J Pathol. 1976 Feb;82(2):339-52.
The infant ferret is susceptible to respiratory syncytial virus infection in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. In the nose, viral replication is restricted to the surface respiratory epithelium in the nasal passages and turbinates. In the lungs, viral replication is of a lower order of magnitude and is localized in the alveolar cells. The pattern of viral replication in nasal tissues is independent of the age of the animal at infection, whereas the pattern in lung tissues shows a striking age dependence, with viral replication progressively decreasing as a function of age. Thes age dependence appears to be due to an intrinsic age-related mechanism yet to be defined. We feel that the infant ferret is an acceptable model for the study of respiratory syncytial virus disease and that the study of age dependence observed in ferrets may allow elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the age dependence seen in humans.
幼年雪貂易受呼吸道合胞病毒感染，感染部位包括上呼吸道和下呼吸道。在鼻腔，病毒复制局限于鼻道和鼻甲的表面呼吸道上皮。在肺部，病毒复制的数量级较低，且局限于肺泡细胞。鼻腔组织中的病毒复制模式与感染时动物的年龄无关，而肺部组织中的模式则显示出明显的年龄依赖性，病毒复制随年龄增长而逐渐减少。这种年龄依赖性似乎是由于一种尚未明确的与年龄相关的内在机制。我们认为，幼年雪貂是研究呼吸道合胞病毒疾病的合适模型，对雪貂中观察到的年龄依赖性的研究可能有助于阐明人类中年龄依赖性所涉及的机制。
