[Establishment of EV71 animal models with 2-week-old BALB/c mice]

Animal model is very important for anti-EV71 (enterovirus 71) drug and vaccine development. 1-day-old suckling EV71 mouse model is the main in vivo model used in China. 1-day-old suckling EV71 mouse is too small to perform antiviral experiment. And the route of administration and dosage capacity are also restricted. A strong virulence EV71 virus strain was selected after screening from five EV71 strains with 1-day-old suckling mice. A mouse-adapted EV71 strain with increased virulence in 12-day-old suckling mice, EV71-M5, was generated after five serial passages of the parental EV71 strain in mice. Virus titers of EV71 infected mice heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, small intestine, brain and muscle tissue were determined by cytopathic effect (CPE) assay. The virus used in this model is the first isolated EV71 strain in China. And 2-week-old suckling mice were used in this model. This is a supplement for the EV71 animal model in China. Establishment of this EV71 model will provide an attractive platform for anti-EV71 vaccine and drug development.