The morbidity and mortality of coxsackievirus A10 (CVA10)-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) have been increasing in recent years, while few studies on the vaccine and animal model of CVA10 have been reported. Here, we first established a CVA10-infected gerbil model and employed it to evaluate the immunoprotective effect of an inactivated CVA10 vaccine. The results showed that gerbils up to the age of 14 days were fully susceptible to CVA10, and all died within five days post-infection by intraperitoneal inoculation. Lethargy, wasting, hind-limb paralysis, and even death could be observed in the CVA10-infected gerbils. Pathological examination suggested that CVA10 has a strong tropism toward muscle tissue, and muscle bundle fracture and muscular fibers necrosis were observed in the limb muscles. Additionally, active immunization results showed that gerbils immunized with the inactivated CVA10 vaccine were 100 % protected from lethal CVA10 challenge. The antisera from vaccinated gerbils also showed high neutralizing titers against CVA10. Based on these results, the CVA10-infected gerbil model was a suitable tool for analyzing the pathogenesis of CVA10 and assessing the protective efficacy of CVA10 candidate vaccines.

近年来，与柯萨奇病毒A10（CVA10）相关的手足口病（HFMD）的发病率和死亡率一直在增加，而有关CVA10疫苗和动物模型的研究很少。在这里，我们首先建立了感染CVA10的沙鼠模型，并用它来评估灭活的CVA10疫苗的免疫保护作用。结果表明，不超过14天的沙鼠对CVA10完全敏感，并且在感染后5天内通过腹膜内接种均死亡。在感染了CVA10的沙鼠中，可以观察到嗜睡，消瘦，后肢麻痹甚至死亡。病理检查表明，CVA10对肌肉组织具有很强的向性，并且在肢体肌肉中观察到肌肉束断裂和肌肉纤维坏死。另外，主动免疫结果表明，用灭活的CVA10疫苗免疫的沙鼠可以100％保护免受致命的CVA10攻击。接种的沙鼠的抗血清也显示出针对CVA10的高中和效价。基于这些结果，感染了CVA10的沙鼠模型是分析CVA10的发病机理并评估CVA10候选疫苗的保护功效的合适工具。