Monkeypox isn’t just a skin disease. During recent outbreaks, many patients have reported gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea and proctitis – raising an important question: can the virus directly infect the human gut?
This study suggests the answer is yes. Researchers used primary human intestinal organoids – miniature, lab-grown models of the ileum and rectum – to show that multiple monkeypox virus (MPXV) strains can productively infect intestinal tissue. These include clades Ia, Ib, and IIb, which have been linked to both the 2022–2023 global outbreak and ongoing cases in Africa.
What makes this especially interesting is how quickly these organoids can be scaled. The team leveraged this advantage to screen a broad library of antiviral compounds, identifying 12 promising candidates that are already considered safe in humans. One standout is clofarabine, a clinically used drug that showed strong antiviral activity across all tested MPXV strains in both intestinal and skin organoids.
Beyond explaining symptoms, this work points to a bigger shift: organoids are becoming powerful tools not just for modeling human disease, but for accelerating drug discovery – especially in the face of emerging global health threats.
Research article: Primary human intestinal organoids model enteric infection of monkeypox virus and enable scalable drug discovery
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Drug development demands accuracy, speed, and relevance to human biology. At Lambda Biologics, we deliver advanced organoid-based platforms that replicate the complexity of human organs – empowering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to make better decisions, faster.
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