The Role and Contributions of Systems Biology to the Non-Human Primate Model of Influenza Pathogenesis and Vaccinology

Abstract

Nonhuman primates have proven to be valuable models in the study of seasonal and highly pathogenic influenza virus infections, prophylaxis, and therapy. Due to their close genetic relationship to humans, these animals share anatomic, postural, physiological, and immune features with us of key importance when it comes to progression and mitigation of respiratory infections. Their lower susceptibility to natural influenza infection even presents an advantage in the laboratory setting because of the need for immunologically naïve animals, and since nonhuman primates are relatively genetically diverse within one species, their study provides an essential complement to the body of knowledge acquired with inbred animal models. However, ethical and cost considerations typically result in smaller experiments and a need to look at additional levels of biological information in order to maximize insights gained from these studies. Systems biology is a powerful tool for this purpose, because it provides a much needed wide angle view of complex interactions taking places in organisms which are more than the sum of their parts. This chapter will describe the extent to which functional genomics and proteomics have successfully integrated with other, more traditional tools in the areas of clinical presentation, pathology, and immunology during influenza infections in nonhuman primates. It will also describe the unique contributions systems biology has made to our understanding of host–virus interactions, as well as response to vaccination and antiviral therapy.