School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Animal Model Exp Med. 2024 Oct;7(5):673-684. doi: 10.1002/ame2.12471. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
Vector-borne diseases caused by arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are a considerable challenge to public health globally. Mosquito-borne arboviruses, such as Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses, cause a range of human illnesses and may be fatal. Currently, efforts to control these diseases still face challenges due to growing vector resistance towards insecticides, urbanization, and limited effective antiviral treatments and vaccines. Animal models are crucial in antiviral research on mosquito-borne arboviruses, playing a role in understanding disease mechanisms, vaccine development, and toxicity testing, but the application of animal models still faces the challenges of ethical considerations and animal-to-human translational success. Genetically engineered mouse models, hamster models and non-human primate (NHP) are currently used in arbovirus research, but new models such as tree shrews and novel humanized mice are emerging. In the context of Malaysian research, the use of long-tailed macaques as potential NHP models for arbovirus research is possible; however, it faces the ethical dilemma of using an endangered species for scientific purposes. Overall, animal models play a crucial role in advancing infectious disease research, but a balance between medical research and species conservation must be upheld.
虫媒病毒（arboviruses）引起的虫媒传染病对全球公共卫生构成了重大挑战。蚊媒arboviruses，如基孔肯雅热、登革热和寨卡病毒，会引起一系列人类疾病，并且可能致命。目前，由于媒介对杀虫剂的抗性不断增强、城市化进程加快以及有效的抗病毒治疗和疫苗有限，控制这些疾病的努力仍然面临挑战。动物模型在蚊媒arbovirus 的抗病毒研究中至关重要，它们在理解疾病机制、疫苗开发和毒性测试方面发挥着作用，但动物模型的应用仍然面临着伦理考虑和动物到人类转化成功的挑战。目前，在 arbovirus 研究中使用的动物模型包括基因工程小鼠模型、仓鼠模型和非人类灵长类动物（NHP），但新型动物模型，如树鼩和新型人源化小鼠，也在不断涌现。在马来西亚的研究中，长尾猕猴作为 arbovirus 研究的潜在 NHP 模型是可行的；然而，它面临着将濒危物种用于科学目的的伦理困境。总的来说，动物模型在推进传染病研究方面发挥着至关重要的作用，但必须在医学研究和物种保护之间取得平衡。
