Genetically Engineering a Susceptible Mouse Model for MERS-CoV-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Since 2012, monthly cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continue to cause severe respiratory disease that is fatal in ~35% of diagnosed individuals. The ongoing threat to global public health and the need for novel therapeutic countermeasures have driven the development of animal models that can reproducibly replicate the pathology associated with MERS-CoV in human infections. The inability of MERS-CoV to replicate in the respiratory tracts of mice, hamsters, and ferrets stymied initial attempts to generate small animal models. Identification of human dipeptidyl peptidase IV (hDPP4) as the receptor for MERS-CoV infection opened the door for genetic engineering of mice. Precise molecular engineering of mouse DPP4 (mDPP4) with clustered regularly interspaced shor

SUBMITTER: Leist SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7123801 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature