Animal models of tumorigenic herpesviruses — an update

•Because of the fact that any particular model system only recapitulates one aspect of viral pathogenesis, we postulate that multiple animal models are needed to fully understand the biology of oncogenic herpesviruses.•Transgenic mice, homologous animal viruses, tumorgraft and humanized mouse models of infection complement each other for the comprehensive study of viral oncogenesis.

Any one model system, be it culture or animal, only recapitulates one aspect of the viral life cycle in the human host. By providing recent examples of animal models for Epstein–Barr virus and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, we would argue that multiple animal models are needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis associated with human oncogenic herpesviruses. Transgenic mice, homologous animal herpesviruses, and tumorgraft and humanized mouse models all complement each other in the study of viral pathogenesis. The use of animal model systems facilitates the exploration of novel anti-viral and anti-cancer treatment modalities for diseases associated with oncogenic herpesviruses.