Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42722640›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Modeling reptile virus infection in vitro using Python regius airway organoids.

Sam Willemsen, Gijs van Son, Melanie Rissmann, Ninouk Akkerman, Harry Begthel, Jeroen Korving, Carola Ammerlaan, Bart L Haagmans, Johan van Es, Hans Clevers

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sam WillemsenHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1160-2299
Gijs van Son *Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0572-3243
Melanie Rissmann *Viroscience Department, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5298-5919
Ninouk AkkermanHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0547-3993
Harry BegthelHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Jeroen KorvingHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Carola AmmerlaanHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bart L HaagmansViroscience Department, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6221-2015
Johan van EsHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Hans CleversHubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands. h.clevers@hubrecht.eu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3077-5582

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Zoonoses pose substantial global health risks, highlighting the need to better understand animal-to-human transmission. Reptiles are increasingly recognized as hosts of diverse pathogens, including numerous viruses, yet the diversity and prevalence of reptile pathogens, as well as their potential risk to humans, remain poorly understood. Here, we establish and characterize airway organoids derived from Python regius, providing an in vitro model to study reptile airway infection. Through de novo assembly of a Python regius reference genome, we characterize airway organoids at single-cell resolution, which suggests the presence of diverse cell populations including ionocytes, ciliated, secretory, goblet, endocrine, tuft, and basal cells. The organoids support productive infection with Ball Python Nidovirus (BPNV) and mount a robust epithelial antiviral response through the induction of interferon-stimulated genes, cytokines, and genes involved in chemical defense. As a proof-of-concept, treating organoids with antiviral drugs during infection reduces BPNV levels, highlighting the model's utility for drug testing. By providing a reductionist system of the serpentes airway, these organoids constitute a physiologically relevant in vitro model to study reptile viruses and host-pathogen interactions in their native host.

Indexed as

BoidaeNidoviralesNidovirales InfectionsOrganoidsAnimalsAntiviral AgentsHost-Pathogen InteractionsAntiviral Agents

Identifiers

PMID42722640
PMCPMC13562644

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.