Human liver chimeric mice as a new model of Hepatitis E Virus infection and preclinical drug evaluation

Objective: Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is recognized as important pathogen in developing and industrialized countries leading to acute and chronic infections with considerable morbidity and mortality. Since our knowledge about the molecular biology and pathogenicity of HEV is still rudimental, we employed humanized uPA/SCID/beige (USB) mice to establish a new small animal model of HEV infection. Methods: Homozygous USB mice repopulated with primary human hepatocytes were inoculated with either patient-derived HEV-positive serum or stool suspensions from genotype 1 or 3. Virological parameters were determined at sero…