Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 18, 2026
Chronic, Acute, and Reactivated HIV Infection in Humanized Immunodeficient Mouse Models
Published on: December 3, 2019
Modeling EBV infection and pathogenesis in new-generation humanized mice.
Shigeyoshi Fujiwara1, Ken-Ichi Imadome2, Masami Takei3
11] Department of Infectious Diseases, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan [2] Division of Hematology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Humanized mice successfully model Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections, including B-cell lymphoproliferative disease and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). These models aid in studying EBV pathogenesis and testing new anti-EBV therapies.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Pathology
Background:
- Highly immunodeficient mouse strains enable human immune system reconstitution.
- Humanized mice are crucial for modeling human-specific viral infections.
- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes significant human diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the recapitulation of human EBV infection and pathogenesis in mouse models.
- To highlight the application of these models in preclinical anti-EBV therapy studies.
Main Methods:
- Development of new-generation humanized mice.
- Infection of humanized mice with EBV.
- Utilizing distinct mouse xenograft models for specific EBV-associated diseases.
Main Results:
- Humanized mice reproduce key features of EBV-associated B-cell lymphoproliferative disease and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).
- Erosive arthritis resembling rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is recapitulated.
- Asymptomatic, persistent EBV infection and innate/adaptive immune responses are observed.
- EBV-associated T-/natural killer cell lymphoproliferative disease is modeled in a separate xenograft system.
Conclusions:
- Humanized mouse models effectively recapitulate EBV infection and associated pathologies.
- These models are valuable tools for preclinical evaluation of experimental anti-EBV therapies.
