Barry Rockx

We are looking forward welcoming you on December 9th for Prof. Barry Rockx's @barryrockx.bsky.social presentation: "Experimental models for characterization of emerging vector-borne viruses".
Register: www.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi...
@astmh.bsky.social @utmbnews.bsky.social @sbvirologia.bsky.social

These factors collectively determine outbreak potential and disease severity, contributing to the broader knowledge framework needed to address emerging arboviral threats.

💡 Why this matters:
A focus on vector-virus-host interactions is critical because successful WNV transmission depends on complex molecular mechanisms that govern viral replication within mosquito vectors, viral adaptation to different host species, and the efficiency of vector-to-host transmission.

- The presence of mosquito saliva at the WNV inoculation site in mice, leads to increased permeability of the dermal endothelium at the inoculation site, and increased mortality compared to inoculation of WNV alone.

- Saliva proteins from anthropophilic mosquito species induce permeability in an in vitro model of the human dermal endothelium, while an ornithophilic mosquito species do not.

- During probing and feeding, a mosquito injects both saliva and virus particles into the host skin. Mosquito salivary proteins induce permeability of the capillaries while also dampening the immune responses, and recruiting susceptible immune cells for dissemination to distant organs.

🔬 Key findings:
- The novel WNV strain isolated from a common chiffchaff in the Netherlands in 2020, is neurovirulent in a mouse model.
- Changes in dinucleotide frequency in the genome of WNV impacts the replication, transmission and virulence of WNV.

🦟What factors impact the clinical outcome of West Nile virus infection?
In her thesis “West Nile virus pathogenesis: exploring the vector-virus-host interface”, Imke employed a multifaceted approach to advance our understanding of WNV pathogenesis, host-virus interactions, and vector influence.

Xmas came early again this year! Very proud of Imke Visser, last week she handed me a copy of her thesis. She will defend her thesis on Wednesday, January 7th, 2026. It was a pleasure supervising her! #ProudPI

Thanks for the invitation! Looking forward to sharing some of our exciting work on emerging arboviruses, see you there!

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Great collaboration with the group of Sander Koenraadt, @marionkoopmans.bsky.social from the #OneHealthPact and many others.

In addition, saliva from Cx. pipiens biotypes enhance WNV-induced morbidity and mortality in vivo, as well as increased dermal vascular permeability at the inoculation site. However, only Cx pipiens molestus saliva enhances WNV viremia.

🦟 Imke found that saliva from anthropophilic mosquitoes (Aedes and Cx. pipiens molestus) increases permeability of the dermal endothelium, likely due to protease(s) absent in ornithophilic Cx. pipiens pipiens.

Effect of mosquito saliva from distinct species on human dermal endothelial cell function in vitro and West Nile virus pathogenesis in vivo During probing and feeding, an infected mosquito injects both virus and saliva into the host skin. The presence of mosquito saliva in the skin increases arbovirus pathogenesis in the bitten host, h...

While finishing her thesis, Imke Visser just published another very cool paper on the effects of mosquito saliva from distinct species on human dermal endothelial cell function in vitro and West Nile virus pathogenesis in vivo. doi.org/10.1080/2222...

A pan-orthohantavirus human lung xenograft mouse model and its utility for preclinical studies Author summary Orthohantaviruses are rodent-borne pathogens that can be transmitted from rodents to humans by inhalation of aerosolized virus-contaminated rodent excreta. While orthohantaviruses gener...

Perfect timing! Today Danny Noack is defending his thesis on "Novel models to study #orthohantavirus infection and pathogenesis", and coincidentally the final chapter of his thesis was published today, what an achievement! #proudPI, dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

What a start of the year! Email on Jan 1st, paper accepted! Stay tuned!

It depends on the question I suppose. I particularly like the human lung xenograft model, because it allows (for the first time) for direct comparison of HFRS and HCPS viruses in human lung tissue. The possibilities with combining with a human immune system are especially exciting!

As if writing a thesis wasn’t hard enough, Eleanor did the design and layout all by herself. Even the individual chapter pages are specifically geared towards each topic.

3/ Finally, she consolidated the clinicopathological findings obtained from human cases of WNV neuroinvasive disease and compare these with the sparse data available for human cases of USUV-related disease, to speculate on the underlying causes of the clinical differences.

2/ Next, she investigated the haematogenous routes of neuroinvasion to identify whether USUV and WNV differ in their ability to invade across the blood-brain barrier. She then used motor neurons to investigate their potential for use of transneural routes of neuroinvasion.

1/ During her PhD, Eleanor started with an overview of the neuroinvasive routes and mechanisms employed by arboviruses. She then identify whether USUV and WNV differ in their ability to infect and replicate within the brain, using a human brain slice model.

Xmas came early this year! Not 1 but two theses received from 2 highly talented PhD students. Can't wait for their thesis defenses next year, what a way to start 2025!

Very proud of Eleanor Marshall, today she handed me a copy of her thesis. She will defend her thesis on Thursday February 13th! It was a pleasure supervising her! #ProudPI

/3 Finally, he used a human lung xenograft mouse model to study the early cell tropism and host response of a range of HFRS and HCPS orthohantaviruses in human lung tissue in vivo.

/2 He then went on to develop a 3D vessel-on-chip model to investigate the effect of Puumala virus infection on endothelial cell function and response. He also studied the difference in endothelial cell responses to Seoul virus infection in the reservoir (rats) and humans.

/1 During his PhD, Danny first characterized a Puumala virus patient cohort to identify key immunological, hemostatic and kidney injury markers. Next he summarized current data on cell tropism in humans and animals, identifying key gaps in knowledge.

Very proud of Danny Noack, today he handed me a copy of his thesis. He will defend on Thursday, January 23rd! It’s been an pleasure supervising him! #ProudPI

7/ Great collaboration between Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Laurens Liesenborghs, ISIDORe, VetBioNet, RIVM and many others.

6/ However, given the ongoing multi-country outbreak of clade I MPXV, here we present a potential new infection and disease model that recapitulates the disease seen in the majority of human cases and can be used for preclinical evaluation of countermeasures against MPXV.