The HPV Xenograft Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Mouse Model

The permissive propagation of papillomaviruses outside their natural hosts has not been possible, which is an important restriction to the study of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and associated diseases. Since the mid-1980s, several models have been described that rely on the growth of HPV in susceptible human xenografts implanted in immunodeficient mice. The severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse has been particularly suited to this approach, and to reproduce reliably the macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular features of naturally occurring lesions. We describe two common methods that permit growth and propagation of HPV in subcutaneous (heterotopic) or cutaneous (orthotopic) human skin grafts implanted in the SCID mouse.