Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
13:48
Reverse Genetics Mediated Recovery of Infectious Murine Norovirus
Published on: June 24, 2012
16.7K
A non-human primate model for human norovirus infection
Inga Rimkute1, Natthawan Chaimongkol2, Kamron D Woods1
1Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
Nature Microbiology
|February 6, 2024
Summary
Rhesus macaques are now a reliable animal model for studying human norovirus infections. This breakthrough enables the development of new therapies and vaccines against norovirus disease.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Immunology
- Primate Models
Background:
- Norovirus causes human gastrointestinal illness.
- Lack of a suitable animal model hinders norovirus therapy and vaccine development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Establish rhesus macaques as a reliable animal model for human norovirus infection.
- Evaluate the utility of this model for studying norovirus pathogenesis and immune responses.
Main Methods:
- Oral inoculation of rhesus macaques with human noroviruses from two genogroups.
- Monitoring virus shedding, viral evolution, and immune responses.
- Analysis of intestinal biopsies for viral presence, pathology, and cell tropism.
Main Results:
- Rhesus macaques demonstrated susceptibility to human norovirus infection.
- Virus shedding patterns, evolution, immune responses, and jejunal replication mirrored human infections.
- Minor pathological changes and viral presence in chromogranin A-expressing cells were observed.
Conclusions:
- Rhesus macaques serve as a promising non-human primate model for human norovirus.
- This model will facilitate the evaluation of novel norovirus vaccines and therapeutics.
