Prince G A, Jenson A B, Horswood R L, Camargo E, Chanock R M
Am J Pathol. 1978 Dec;93(3):771-91.
The cotton rat is susceptible to respiratory synctial virus infection in both the upper and lower portions of the respiratory tract. Virus replicates to high titer in the nose and lungs and to relatively low titer in the trachea. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated viral antigen in the nasal epithelium and the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium but not in the trachea or the alveolar cells of the lungs. Histopathologic changes included a desquamative, exudative rhinitis of moderate severity and a mild proliferative bronchiolitis. Serum neutralizing antibody developed in all animals by the ninth day after infection, reaching extremely high titer in several instances. Unlike the previously described response of experimentally infected infant ferrets, cotton rats are uniformly susceptible to pulmonary infection throughout life, thereby offering a model for long-term pulmonary studies heretofore not available.
棉鼠对呼吸道合胞病毒感染在上呼吸道和下呼吸道均易感。病毒在鼻腔和肺部大量复制，在气管中复制水平相对较低。免疫荧光研究表明，病毒抗原存在于鼻黏膜上皮、支气管和细支气管上皮，但不存在于气管或肺的肺泡细胞中。组织病理学变化包括中度严重的脱屑性、渗出性鼻炎和轻度增生性细支气管炎。感染后第9天，所有动物均产生血清中和抗体，在某些情况下达到极高滴度。与先前描述的实验性感染幼雪貂的反应不同，棉鼠终生均对肺部感染易感，从而提供了一个此前无法获得的长期肺部研究模型。
