Directly analyzing the role of the gut microbiota during the course of infection with human-specific pathogens is not possible with existing methods. To overcome this problem, we developed a germ-free precision mouse model, which we used to compare the acquisition, replication and pathogenesis of HIV and Epstein–Barr virus.
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References
Brestoff, J. R. & Artis, D. Commensal bacteria at the interface of host metabolism and the immune system. Nat. Immunol. 14, 676–684 (2013). An article that reviews the role of the gut microbiota in host homeostasis.
Robinson, C. M. & Pfeiffer, J. K. Viruses and the microbiota. Annu. Rev. Virol. 1, 55–69 (2014). A review article thatdiscusses the positive and negative roles of the microbiota in viral infections.
Melkus, M. W. et al. Humanized mice mount specific adaptive and innate immune responses to EBV and TSST-1. Nat. Med. 12, 1316–1322 (2006). This paper reports the development and characterization of the BLT humanized mouse model.
Wahl, A. et al. Precision mouse models with expanded tropism for human pathogens. Nat. Biotechnol. 37, 1163–1173 (2019). This paper reports a humanized mouse model with expanded tropism for human pathogens that infect non-immune cells.
Wahl, A. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection is effectively treated and prevented by EIDD-2801. Nature 591, 451–457 (2021). This paper reports a humanized mouse model for studying human lung infection with human coronaviruses.
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This is a summary of: Wahl, A. et al. A germ-free humanized mouse model shows the contribution of resident microbiota to human-specific pathogen infection. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01906-5 (2023)
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Germ-free humanized mice reveal a crucial role for the gut microbiota in HIV and EBV pathogenesis. Nat Biotechnol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01908-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01908-3
