Organoids as a new in vitro model of human norovirus infection

Abstract

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the main causative viral agents in epidemic and endemic acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Despite their impact on the global economic and health burden, developing effective control measures to prevent and treat norovirus gastroenteritis remains a difficult problem to solve. One of the major reasons for this problem is the lack of affordable small animal models and a robust and reproducible in vitro cell culture system for the propagation of this poorly characterized RNA virus. Recently, the development of a 3-dimensional culture system using pluripotent stem cells to mimic the native small intestine has led to the discovery of new strategies for the cultivation of this virus. In this review, we describe a human stem cell-derived intestinal organoid model that led to the development of the currently available HuNoV in vitro culture systems that support replication of the virus, and provide helpful insights into HuNoV biology and vaccine and therapeutic development.