Can a mouse model help us find better treatments for papillomavirus infections? This study describes the establishment and characterization of a mouse xenograft transplantation model for studying bovine papillomavirus infection in skin. Calf scrotal skin inoculated with bovine papillomavirus type 2 (BPV-2) was grafted onto immunodeficient mice. After five months, the induced warts exhibited histological features of papillomavirus infections and tested positive for viral DNA and capsid antigen. The formation of infectious virions was confirmed by inoculation of new transplants with extracts from the induced warts, as well as in a cell culture focus assay. Furthermore, topical application of bromovinyl-2′-deoxyuridine led to a reduction in viral DNA content in developing warts. This small-animal xenograft model provides a valuable tool for characterizing antiviral compounds and understanding the regulation of papillomavirus infections. It should be useful for characterizing antiviral compounds and providing an understanding of the regulation of papillomavirus infections. Future work could focus on testing a range of chemotherapeutic agents and exploring the model's applicability to other papillomavirus types.
Published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, this research is aligned with the journal’s focus on the discovery, development, and evaluation of antimicrobial agents. The paper presents a novel model for studying papillomavirus infection and testing potential antiviral compounds, contributing to the journal’s scope of advancing therapeutic strategies for infectious diseases.