AI Summary
Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have created six lines of humanized mice that can be used as models for studying COVID-19. These mice have cells engineered with important human molecules involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection and were generated on two different immunologic backgrounds. These models can provide insights into how the virus moves through the body and why COVID-19 symptoms vary among individuals. They have already helped researchers understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on humans and are available for broader COVID-19 research. This work contributes to pandemic preparedness efforts globally.
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have developed six lines of humanized mice that can serve as valuable models for studying human cases of COVID-19.
According to their new study in eBioMedicine, these mouse models are important for COVID-19 research because their cells were engineered to include two important human molecules that are involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells-;and these humanized mice were generated on two different immunologic backgrounds. The new models can help shed light on how SARS-CoV-2 moves through the body and why different people experience wildly different COVID-19 symptoms.
“With these mouse models, we can model epidemiologically-relevant SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination settings, and we can study all relevant tissues (not just the blood) at different timepoints following infection and/or vaccination,” says LJI Professor Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., who co-led the research with LJI Histopathology Core Director Kenneth Kim, Dipl. ACVP, and the late Kurt Jarnagin, Ph.D., of Synbal, Inc.
Already, these new mouse models have helped scientists capture a clearer picture of how SARS-CoV-2 affects humans. They are also available to the wider COVID-19 research community.
This work is part of LJI’s mission to contribute to pandemic preparedness around the world.”
Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., LJI Professor
Mouse models are a critical tool for understanding infection
Shresta’s lab is known for producing mouse models to study immune responses to infectious diseases such as dengue virus and Zika virus. In 2021, her laboratory partnered with Synbal, Inc., a preclinical biotechnology company based in San Diego, CA,