科研人员建立了致命的中东呼吸道冠状病毒感染的一个动物模型，它可能有助于发现中东呼吸综合征（MERS）的防护策略。自从中东呼吸综合征（MERS）在2012年6月于阿拉伯半岛出现以来，MERS-CoV β冠状病毒已经在中东和欧洲导致了超过108个人类病例，至少50人死亡，有多个人传人的报告。Vincent Munster及其同事建立了一个动物模型，它可能揭示出这种病原体如何导致疾病，并且可以帮助开发有效的疗法。这组作者为6只猕猴接种了已知最早的MERS-CoV分离株，称为HCoV-EMC/2012，这是从一名患有致命肺炎和急性肾衰竭的病人体内获得的。这组作者报告说，在接受了气管内、眼、口和鼻内接种之后，这些猕猴出现了下呼吸道感染，随后出现了间质性肺炎和类似于人类对MERS-CoV做出反应的其他体征。这项研究还确定了病毒复制的地点，发现了这种病毒在称为肺细胞的细胞中最剧烈地复制，肺细胞帮助维持肺的称为肺泡的小空腔。这组作者说，这种病毒对下呼吸道的偏爱可能有助于解释人类疾病的严重性以及相对有限的人间传播。

生物谷推荐的英文摘要：

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes transient lower respiratory tract infection in rhesus macaques

Emmie de Wita, Angela L. Rasmussenb, Darryl Falzaranoa, Trenton Bushmakera, Friederike Feldmannc, Douglas L. Briningc, Elizabeth R. Fischerd, Cynthia Martellaroa, Atsushi Okumurab, Jean Changb, Dana Scottc, Arndt G. Beneckeb,e, Michael G. Katzeb, Heinz Feldmanna,f,1, and Vincent J. Munstera,1

In 2012, a novel betacoronavirus, designated Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus or MERS-CoV and associated with severe respiratory disease in humans, emerged in the Arabian Peninsula. To date, 108 human cases have been reported, including cases of human-to-human transmission. The availability of an animal disease model is essential for understanding pathogenesis and developing effective countermeasures. Upon a combination of intratracheal, ocular, oral, and intranasal inoculation with 7 × 106 50% tissue culture infectious dose of the MERS-CoV isolate HCoV-EMC/2012, rhesus macaques developed a transient lower respiratory tract infection. Clinical signs, virus shedding, virus replication in respiratory tissues, gene expression, and cytokine and chemokine profiles peaked early in infection and decreased over time. MERS-CoV caused a multifocal, mild to marked interstitial pneumonia, with virus replication occurring mainly in alveolar pneumocytes. This tropism of MERS-CoV for the lower respiratory tract may explain the severity of the disease observed in humans and the, up to now, limited human-to-human transmission.