ABSTRACT
Objective To rapidly establish a mouse model for optical imaging of the dynamical process of pseudotyped Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Methods In vitro expression in HeLa cells and functions of hDPP4 encoded by recombinant adenovirus Ad5 and pseudo-typed MERS-CoV were verified. The recombinant adenovirus expressing hDPP4 (Ad5-hDPP4) was injected into BALB/ c mice, which were then injected with pseudotyped MERS-CoV expressing firefly luciferase at a titer of 3×107 TCID50(50％ tissue culture infective dose) via intrathoracic (I. T. ) or intraperitoneal (I. P. ) injection. MERS-CoV infection and tissue distribution were observed using optical imaging techniques. Re-sults hDPP4 and firefly luciferase were efficiently expressed in HeLa cells. In BALB/ c mice injected with Ad5-hDPP4 via I. P. , firefly luciferase expression were detected in abdomen between 48-96 h after pseudo-typed MERS-CoV infection. The expression of firely luciferase was also detected in chests of BALB/ c mice injected with Ad5-hDPP4 via I. T. around 48 h after pseudotyped MERS-CoV infection. Conclusions This study reported a simple and rapid method for establishing a mouse model for conveniently and dynamically monitoring pseudotyped MERS-CoV infection, which might provide an effective means for in vivo evaluation of neutralizing antibodies or entry inhibitors by visualization with optical imaging techniques.