- Development of an Eastern woodchuck animal model that produces a human HBV infection in the woodchuck animal through the administration of a new HBV-WHV chimeric virus
- This new animal model may be used to study acute and chronic WHV and HBV infections in the same host for comparison of immunopathogenesis, liver disease development, and liver cancer.
- Chronically HBV-infected woodchucks provide a new tool for the screening, evaluating, and developing new drugs that are very specific to HBV nucleic acids and proteins.
OVERVIEW
Georgetown and Penn State have collaborated to create an innovative chimeric virus called w60h25, which enables HBV replication in woodchuck animal models. This breakthrough will enhance HBV research and aid in the advancement of new therapies. Eastern woodchucks naturally carry a virus called WHV, which is similar to the virus that causes hepatitis B in humans (HBV). This makes the woodchuck a useful animal model for studying both acute and chronic HBV infections and for testing new drugs to treat chronic HBV infections. Researchers can infect woodchucks of different ages and immune statuses with a modified virus containing woodchuck serum allowing scientists to study WHV and HBV infections in the same animal, comparing how the immune system responds, how the liver disease develops, and how liver cancer forms. By studying these infections in woodchucks, scientists can identify viral and host factors involved in these processes, leading to a better understanding of acute and chronic HBV infection. These factors can also be explored as potential targets for drug development in the treatment of chronic HBV infection.
BACKGROUND
Eastern woodchucks naturally carry WHV, a virus closely related to HBV, which causes acute and chronic infections similar to those seen in humans. As a result, woodchucks are widely used in laboratories as a model to study acute and chronic HBV infections and to develop new drugs for treating chronic HBV infections. In this new animal model, both immunocompetent neonatal and immunocompetent/immunosuppressed adult woodchucks can be successfully infected with w60h25 chimera-containing woodchuck serum obtained from passaged viruses allowing researchers to study acute and chronic WHV and HBV infections in the same host, enabling comparisons of immunopathogenesis, liver disease development, and liver cancer.
Benefit
· A chronically HBV-infected woodchuck has been developed as a valuable tool for evaluating and developing new drugs that specifically target HBV nucleic acids and proteins.
· There are currently no other animal models available that closely resemble HBV.
Market Application
· Pharmaceutical companies and academic groups may find it beneficial to utilize the chronically HBV-infected woodchuck for drug development, evaluation, and basic HBV research purposes.
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