Monodelphis domestica as a Fetal Intra-Cerebral Inoculation Model for Zika Virus Pathogenesis

Authors

John Thomas, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Juan Garcia, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Matthew Terry, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Susan M. Mahaney, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Oscar Quintanilla, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Dionn Carlo Silva, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Marisol Morales, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
John Vandeberg PhD, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-19-2023

Abstract

Monodelphis domestica (the laboratory opossum) is a marsupial native to South America. At birth, these animals are developmentally equivalent to human embryos at approximately 5 weeks of gestation, which, when coupled with other characteristics including the size of the animals, the development of a robust immune system during juvenile development, and the relative ease of experimental manipulation, have made M. domestica a valuable model in many areas of biomedical research. However, their suitability as models for infectious diseases, especially neurotropic viruses such as Zika virus (ZIKV), is currently unknown. Here, we describe the replicative effects of ZIKV using a fetal intra-cerebral model of inoculation. Using immunohistology and in situ hybridization, we found that opossum embryos and fetuses are susceptible to infection by ZIKV administered intra-cerebrally, that the infection persists, and that viral replication results in neural pathology and may occasionally result in global growth restriction. These results demonstrate the utility of M. domestica as a new animal model for investigating ZIKV infection in vivo and facilitate further inquiry into viral pathogenesis, particularly for those viruses that are neurotropic, that require a host with the ability to sustain sustained viremia, and/or that may require intra-cerebral inoculations of large numbers of embryos or fetuses.

Comments

© 2023 by the authors.

Recommended Citation

Thomas, J., Garcia, J., Terry, M., Mahaney, S., Quintanilla, O., Silva, D. C., Morales, M., & VandeBerg, J. L. (2023). Monodelphis domestica as a Fetal Intra-Cerebral Inoculation Model for Zika Virus Pathogenesis. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 12(5), 733. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12050733

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Pathogens

DOI

10.3390/pathogens12050733

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Office of Human Genetics