Mice succumb to HIV
Nature Cell Biology 5, pp 611 - 618
Researchers have infected cultured mouse cells with HIV. This represents a major step forwards
as until now, most AIDS research had to be done in monkey or human cells.
Mice are the favoured animal model for medical research because they breed rapidly and are physiologically similar to humans.
For over a decade researchers have unsuccessfully tried to infect mice. Nevertheless, on the way they have made several key
advances, such as identifying the receptors necessary for viral entry into cells.
In the July issue of Nature Cell Biology, Matija Peterlin and colleagues describe how mouse cells can be modified
to allow virus infection and replication. The cells were altered to express human receptors and another human protein known
to be essential for the replication of the viral genetic material. Critically, they discovered that replacing a single mouse
specific amino acid with the corresponding human version in a third key protein, called hp32, allowed the virus to
replicate vigorously and to infect neighbouring cells in the dish.
The next step will be the production of HIV-susceptible transgenic mice. A mouse susceptible to AIDS would undoubtedly
revolutionize research to find a cure and represents a long-awaited dream of many a virologist.
