The pathogen of AIDS is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which mainly invades the immune system of the human body, invading immune cells, including T cells, monocytes macrophages, dendritic cells, etc., thus leading to the decrease of immune function of the body until the last one or more other microorganisms invade the body tissues destructively in the case of low immunity of the body.

Since the discovery of HIV, the related fields have been trying to find suitable animal models for AIDS pathogenesis, drug treatment, and vaccine research. Establishing an ideal AIDS animal model is of great importance for basic AIDS research. At present, animal models of AIDS such as mice, cats, and monkeys have been established in the field of AIDS research and have been applied in relevant experimental studies.

Ace Therapeutics focuses on the research of parasitic organisms and has established a technical platform for the construction of animal models of parasitic organisms, aiming to provide a variety of development and customization services of animal models of parasitic organisms for customers worldwide. Among them, we can provide you with customization services for animal models of AIDS, including transgenic mouse models, rabbit HIV infection models, and humanized mouse models.

Customization Service Options for Animal Models of AIDS Infection

• Rabbit HIV infection models

[Replication method] HIV-1/HILV-1 co-inoculation in New Zealand rabbits

[Model characteristics] After inoculation, the model rabbits can show cellular and humoral immune responses. All model rabbits were positive for serum HIV-1 antibodies by ELISA, confirmed as HIV-1 protein by western blot, and positive for HIV marker antigen P24, and the antibodies can be maintained for more than 1 year. The intravenously vaccinated animals showed severe diarrhea and weight loss. One animal developed mammary carcinoma, and two others developed transient hindlimb paralysis. The intraperitoneal injection did not show any clinical signs. In terms of clinical signs and pathological changes, the model of HIV-1 infection in rabbits needs further methods to be refined.

[Evaluation and applications] Rabbits are easy to source and inexpensive, and the experimental conditions are easily controlled, so the rabbit model of HIV-1 infection has a more important use for the study of the effect of the virus on the major organs of the body and the pathogenic mechanism of the virus on the organism. However, the model animals require a large amount of virus for infection, infection without disease, and the lack of understanding of the immune activity of CD4+ T cells in rabbits, so this model is not suitable for conducting studies on antiviral drugs and vaccines.

• Non-human primate AIDS models

There are two serotypes of HIV, HIV-1, and HIV-2, with HIV-1 infection being the most common. Non-human primates are highly evolved and have highly similar genetic sequences to humans, making them a good animal model for studying HIV infection. According to the different susceptibility of viral strains to non-human primates, HIV non-human primate models can be divided into the following three categories.

• HIV-1-infected chimpanzees, gibbons, and pig-tailed monkeys.
• HIV-2-infected rhesus monkeys, baboons, and crab-eating monkeys.
• SIV/SHIV-infected rhesus or crab-eating monkey models, and the latter two are currently the most widely used.

[Model characteristics] Initially, most animals have obvious viremia, manifested by fever, rash, diarrhea, swollen peripheral superficial lymph nodes, and other clinical signs similar to human infection. At this time, the virus replicates heavily in the body, followed by a strong cellular and humoral immune response in the infected monkeys, and plasma levels of the virus begin to decline. During the incubation period, peripheral blood CD4T cells continue to decrease and the CD4/CD8T cell ratio decreases. By the late stage of infection, monkeys show a gradual decline in peripheral blood CD4T cells and a rebound in plasma viral levels, accompanied by weight loss, organ failure, and opportunistic infections (mainly manifested as intractable diarrhea and pneumonia).

[Model evaluation and applications] HIV infection in non-human primates is evaluated by measuring the viral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma, and CD4/CD8* ratio. Non-human primate models are commonly used in the study of HIV pathogenesis and anti-HIV drug screening. Each model may have many potential applications, which are waiting for further research and development.

• Transgenic mouse AIDS models

Please consult us for more details.

Service Details

Delivery content: experiment report and AIDS animal model.
Test fee: please get it through online inquiry .

• Parasitology discovery and pre-research service
• Parasitology metabolism research service
• Parasitology target and structure function research
• Parasitology effectiveness evaluation service
• Parasitology safety evaluation service
• Parasitology pharmacological research service