A mouse model of human coronavirus HCoV-NL63 infection: comparison with rhinovirus-A1B

We establish a mouse model of HCoV-NL63 and compare outcomes with a model of rhinovirus (RV)-A1B. Transgenic mice expressing human ACE2 were infected intranasally with sham LLC-MK2 cell lysate, 100,000 TCID50 units HCoV-NL63, or 1,000,000 PFU RV-A1B. Lungs were assessed for host gene expression by next generation sequencing. RNAseq showed increases in IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-λ and many IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) in NL63-infected mice. In addition to ISGs, RV-A1B induced expression of IFN-γ, IL-1β, NLRP3, TLR2 and C-X-C chemokines. We established a mouse model of HCoV-NL63 replicative infection characterized by expression of ISGs but fewer pro-inflammatory genes compared to RV-A1B.