Murine models are suggested as the gold standard for scientific research, but they have many limitations of ethical and logistical concern. Then, the alternative host models have been developed to use in many aspects especially in invertebrate animals. These models are selected for many areas of research including genetics, physiology, biochemistry, evolution, disease, neurobiology, and behavior. During the past decade, Galleria mellonella has been used for several medical and scientific researches focusing on human pathogens. This model commonly used their larvae stage due to their easy to use, non-essential special tools or special technique, inexpensive, short life span, and no specific ethical requirement. Moreover, their innate immune response close similarly to mammals, which correlate with murine immunity. In this review, not only the current knowledge of characteristics and immune response of G. mellonella, and the practical use of these larvae in medical mycology research have been presented, but also the better understanding of their limitations has been provided.

The currently spreading arbovirus epidemic is having a severe impact on human health worldwide. The two most common flaviviruses, dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), are transmitted through the same viral vector, Aedes spp. mosquitoes. Since the discovery of DENV in 1943, this virus has been reported to cause around 390 million human infections per year, approximately 500,000 of which require hospitalization and over 20,000 of which are lethal. The present DENV epidemic is primarily concentrated in Southeast Asia. ZIKV, which was discovered in 1952, is another important arthropod-borne flavivirus. The neurotropic role of ZIKV has been reported in infected newborns with microcephaly and in adults with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Despite DENV and ZIKV sharing the same viral vector, their complex pathogenic natures are poorly understood, and the infections they cause do not have specific treatments or effective vaccines. Therefore, this review will describe what is currently known about the clinical characteristics, pathogenesis mechanisms, and transmission of these two viruses. Better understanding of the interrelationships between DENV and ZIKV will provide a useful perspective for developing an effective strategy for controlling both viruses in the future.

The results suggest that ZIKV particle can be detected in the nucleoplasmic compartment of the infected SH-SY5Y cells beside the known viral replicating cytoplasmic area. Hence, SH-SY5Y cells can be used as an in vitro adult human neuronal cell-based model, for further elucidating the ZIKV biology, and highlight other possible significance of Zika virus distribution through nuclear localization, which may correlate to the neuropathological defects in ZIKV-infected adult humans.