Advances in Transgenic Mouse Models to Study Infections by Human Pathogenic Viruses

Masemann Dörthe, Ludwig Stephan, Boergeling Yvonne

Abstract

Medical research is changing into direction of precision therapy, thus, sophisticatedpreclinical models are urgently needed. In human pathogenic virus research, the major technicalhurdle is not only to translate discoveries from animals to treatments of humans, but also to overcomethe problem of interspecies di erences with regard to productive infections and comparable diseasedevelopment. Transgenic mice provide a basis for research of disease pathogenesis after infectionwith human-specific viruses. Today, humanized mice can be found at the very heart of this forefrontof medical research allowing for recapitulation of disease pathogenesis and drug mechanisms inhumans. This review discusses progress in the development and use of transgenic mice for the studyof virus-induced human diseases towards identification of new drug innovations to treat and controlhuman pathogenic infectious diseases.