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AuthorCastellan, Martina
AuthorZamperin, Gianpiero
AuthorFranzoni, Giulia
AuthorFoiani, Greta
AuthorZorzan, Maira
AuthorDrzewnioková, Petra
AuthorMancin, Marzia
AuthorBrian, Irene
AuthorBortolami, Alessio
AuthorPagliari, Matteo
AuthorOggiano, Annalisa
AuthorVascellari, Marta
AuthorPanzarin, Valentina
AuthorCrovella, Sergio
AuthorMonne, Isabella
AuthorTerregino, Calogero
AuthorDe Benedictis, Paola
AuthorLeopardi, Stefania
Available date2023-03-12T07:33:26Z
Publication Date2023-02-03
Publication NameViruses
Identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v15020428
CitationCastellan, M.; Zamperin, G.; Franzoni, G.; Foiani, G.; Zorzan, M.; Drzewnioková, P.; Mancin, M.; Brian, I.; Bortolami, A.; Pagliari, M.; Oggiano, A.; Vascellari, M.; Panzarin, V.; Crovella, S.; Monne, I.; Terregino, C.; De Benedictis, P.; Leopardi, S. Host Response of Syrian Hamster to SARS-CoV-2 Infection including Differences with Humans and between Sexes. Viruses 2023, 15, 428. https://doi.org/10.3390/v15020428
URIhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85148975409&origin=inward
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/40934
AbstractThe emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has highlighted the importance of having proper tools and models to study the pathophysiology of emerging infectious diseases to test therapeutic protocols, assess changes in viral phenotypes, and evaluate the effects of viral evolution. This study provided a comprehensive characterization of the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) as an animal model for SARS-CoV-2 infection using different approaches (description of clinical signs, viral load, receptor profiling, and host immune response) and targeting four different organs (lungs, intestine, brain, and PBMCs). Our data showed that both male and female hamsters were susceptible to the infection and developed a disease similar to the one observed in patients with COVID-19 that included moderate to severe pulmonary lesions, inflammation, and recruitment of the immune system in the lungs and at the systemic level. However, all animals recovered within 14 days without developing the severe pathology seen in humans, and none of them died. We found faint evidence for intestinal and neurological tropism associated with the absence of lesions and a minimal host response in intestines and brains, which highlighted another crucial difference with the multiorgan impairment of severe COVID-19. When comparing male and female hamsters, we observed that males sustained higher viral RNA shedding and replication in the lungs, suffered from more severe symptoms and histopathological lesions, and triggered higher pulmonary inflammation. Overall, these data confirmed the Syrian hamster as a suitable model for mild to moderate COVID-19 and reflected sex-related differences in the response against the virus observed in humans.
SponsorThe study was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health trough the Strategic Project “Ricerca Corrente IZSVE 01/20 RCS”.
Languageen
PublisherMDPI
Subjectanimal model
histopathology
host response
immune response
SARS-CoV-2
sex
transcriptomic profile
TitleHost Response of Syrian Hamster to SARS-CoV-2 Infection including Differences with Humans and between Sexes
TypeArticle
Issue Number2
Volume Number15
ESSN1999-4915
dc.accessType Open Access


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