Meuleman Philip, Leroux-Roels Geert
Center for Vaccinology, Ghent University and Hospital, Building A, 1st Floor, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Antiviral Res. 2008 Dec;80(3):231-8. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2008.07.006. Epub 2008 Aug 14.
The study of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has long been hampered by the lack of a suitable small animal model. Both viruses could only be studied in humans or in chimpanzees. Recently, a new chimeric mouse model was developed that was permissive for HBV and HCV infection. In this model, uPA+/+-SCID mice, suffering from a transgene-induced liver disease, are transplanted early after birth with primary human hepatocytes. These human hepatocytes integrate in the parenchyma and progressively repopulate the diseased mouse liver without losing their normal metabolic functions. Successfully transplanted mice can then be infected with HBV and HCV. In this review, we describe the characteristics of this chimeric mouse model in more detail and give an overview of how this model has already contributed to the development of new antiviral compounds for the treatment of viral hepatitis.
长期以来，乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）和丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）的研究因缺乏合适的小动物模型而受到阻碍。这两种病毒只能在人类或黑猩猩中进行研究。最近，一种新的嵌合小鼠模型被开发出来，该模型允许HBV和HCV感染。在这个模型中，患有转基因诱导的肝病的uPA+/+-SCID小鼠在出生后早期被移植了原代人肝细胞。这些人肝细胞整合到实质中，并逐渐重新填充患病的小鼠肝脏，而不会丧失其正常的代谢功能。成功移植的小鼠随后可以感染HBV和HCV。在这篇综述中，我们更详细地描述了这种嵌合小鼠模型的特征，并概述了该模型如何已经为治疗病毒性肝炎的新型抗病毒化合物的开发做出了贡献。
