New methods and reagents to improve the ferret model for human influenza infections

The ferret has been extensively used to study human influenza infections. However, its value as a model has suffered from the limited set of reagents and methods available for this animal. We have recently tested a large number of monoclonal antibodies cross-reacting with ferret CD markers (CD8, CD9, CD14, CD18, CD25, CD29, CD32, CD44, CD61, CD71, CD79b, CD88, CD104, CD172a and CD3) and cytokines (interferon-gamma, TNF-alpha, interleukine-4 and interleukine-8) for flow cytometry , as well as polyclonal antibodies cross-reacting with ferret immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM) for ELISA. Further improvements of the model will aim at establishing a reliable RT-PCR for ferret cytokines, as well as investigating the location of influenza receptors and viral particles in the upper and lower respiratory tract via immunohistochemistry