Development and characterization of an animal model of Japanese encephalitis virus infection in adolescent C57BL/6 mouse.

We provide an experimental encephalitis murine model accomplished in 3-4 weeks old C57BL/6 mice. A mouse-adapted isolate of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), designated as JEV-S3, was generated by serially passaging the P20778 strain of the virus in 3-4 weeks old C57BL/6 mice. The study indicated that when mice were challenged with JEV-S3 through the intraperitoneal route, they developed characteristic clinical symptoms and histopathological lesions of encephalitis in the brain. The JEV-S3 isolate caused severe illness in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, making it a better alternative for the scientific community to employ this strain for a broader range knock-out model utilizing either BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice. The intricate detailing of the proteome will foster a better understanding of host response against JEV, which will serve as a helpful tool in designing novel antivirals and testing JEV vaccine candidates and therapeutic agents using this model.

Development and characterization of an animal model of Japanese encephalitis virus infection in adolescent C57BL/6 mouse. Dis Model Mech (2021) 14 (10): dmm049176. https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.049176