Monkeypox virus clade IIb isolate exhibits reduced virulence relative to clade IIa isolates in multiple murine models
Journal of Virology·
- DOI
- 10.1128/jvi.00247-26
- PMID
- 42454914
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4417261573
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Validating these murine platforms facilitates ongoing research into viral mechanisms and supports the evaluation of potential therapeutic strategies against divergent orthopoxvirus lineages.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
This study evaluates how two distinct monkeypox virus subclades differ in pathogenicity across various laboratory mouse strains and determines which genetic backgrounds effectively support viral replication.
Study design
A controlled laboratory experiment comparing disease outcomes in four murine strains following standardized viral inoculation with specific clade IIa and IIb isolates.
Population and setting
Four murine cohorts consisting of a standard wild-type line and three immunodeficient variants engineered to lack specific interferon receptor pathways.
Main findings
Clade IIa isolates consistently produced severe clinical deterioration and high mortality across all tested mouse strains. In contrast, clade IIb isolates generated only mild symptoms at equivalent dosages, with fatal outcomes restricted to the highest concentration administered to the most immunocompromised group. Quantitative comparisons indicate that clade IIa demonstrates substantially greater pathogenicity than clade IIb.
Public-health relevance
Validating these murine platforms facilitates ongoing research into viral mechanisms and supports the evaluation of potential therapeutic strategies against divergent orthopoxvirus lineages.
Important limitations
The authors acknowledge that previous investigations were constrained by an insufficient availability of appropriate small animal models for studying these viral variants.
GIDS interpretation
This manuscript adds methodological resources and comparative virology data to the academic record, improving the capacity to characterize emerging viral subclades through established laboratory frameworks.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 7 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.