Zebrafish Herpesvirus Infection Models

Herpes simplex virus (hsv) can cause serious health problems ranging from periodic skin and corneal lesions to encephalitis.The zebrafish has been a prototypical model for developmental biology research for many years. In recent years, human virus entry receptor homologues, such as 3-O sulfated heparan sulfate, zonulin, and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 14-like receptors have been found in zebrafish, which have been used by virologists in Testing them in vivo provides a strong case. In addition, the optical clarity of zebrafish embryos, expression of viral entry receptors, a well-developed immune system, and evolutionarily conserved host defense strategies make zebrafish an excellent model for studying infectious diseases, including viral infections. Because zebrafish embryos are susceptible to HSV infection, the zebrafish model is now emerging as a new model system for host-pathogen interactions.

HSV-1 infection in a zebrafish embryo model.

Our Zebrafish Herpesvirus Infection Models

The zebrafish we provide extensively express 3-O-sulfotransferases during embryonic development for the generation of HSV receptors. We then infect zebrafish embryos with fluorescently labeled virions and track virions in real-time by fluorescence stereo microscopy to help you study viral tropism, viral spread, and viral load kinetics. Furthermore, studying the molecular and cellular basis of virus-induced tissue damage through inflammation is another potential area for understanding human viral diseases in zebrafish models. We can provide zebrafish embryos or adult fish models infected with different viruses or virus strains to help you discover important information about key components of host defense and pathology associated with human disease.

Collectively, our zebrafish system can help you understand many aspects of HSV infection through live imaging, such as host cell tropism, the clinicopathology of the disease and associated inflammation, and the immune response to infection. We even help you screen for anti-inflammatory drugs that alter or block specific pathways by identifying cytokine-specific signals during viral infection in a zebrafish model.

Advantages

• Small size, transparent at early developmental stages, genetically modifiable
• Cost-effective high-throughput screening
• Electrophysiological and optical measurements of neuronal activity can be made
• Test peptide ST isomers generated against specific 3-O
• Identify novel host receptors or homologues

References

1. Antoine TE, et al. Zebrafish: modeling for herpes simplex virus infections. Zebrafish. 2014, 11(1):17-25.
2. Shukla D, et al. A novel role for 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate in herpes simplex virus 1 entry. Cell. 1999, 99:13–2.
3. Hubbard S, et al. Zebrafish-encoded 3-O-sulfotransferase-3 isoform mediates herpes simplex virus type 1 entry and spread. Zebrafish. 2010, 7:181–187.
4. Cui C, et al. Infectious disease modeling and innate immune function in zebrafish embryos. Methods Cell Biol. 2011, 105:273–308.

For research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.