ABOVE: MKPV infected mouse kidney tubules (red) and resultant fibrosis (white).
BEN ROEDIGER, CENTENARY INSTITUTE
For decades, an unexplained kidney disease has been striking certain middle-aged laboratory mice. Researchers have finally discovered that it is caused by infection with a novel parvovirus. The newly discovered virus, described in Cell today (September 13), is distinct from previously identified mouse parvoviruses, instead sharing sequence similarities with viruses found in a diverse set of animals including bats, rats, and pigs.
“Even in an intensely studied animal like the laboratory mouse there are infections that we haven’t identified, that are widespread, and that can cause significant clinical manifestations,” says Colin Parrish of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, who was not involved in the research. “We’re still discovering these [viruses] and we really don’t know how many more there are to be found. There’s no reason to think this is ...
