Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters
In late 2019, an outbreak of a severe respiratory disease caused by an emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, resulted in high morbidity and mortality in infected humans. Complete understanding of COVID-19, the multi-faceted disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, requires suitable small animal models, as does the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/7/779 |
| _version_ | 1797561902326349824 |
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| author | Nikolaus Osterrieder Luca D. Bertzbach Kristina Dietert Azza Abdelgawad Daria Vladimirova Dusan Kunec Donata Hoffmann Martin Beer Achim D. Gruber Jakob Trimpert |
| author_facet | Nikolaus Osterrieder Luca D. Bertzbach Kristina Dietert Azza Abdelgawad Daria Vladimirova Dusan Kunec Donata Hoffmann Martin Beer Achim D. Gruber Jakob Trimpert |
| author_sort | Nikolaus Osterrieder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In late 2019, an outbreak of a severe respiratory disease caused by an emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, resulted in high morbidity and mortality in infected humans. Complete understanding of COVID-19, the multi-faceted disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, requires suitable small animal models, as does the development and evaluation of vaccines and antivirals. Since age-dependent differences of COVID-19 were identified in humans, we compared the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in young and aged Syrian hamsters. We show that virus replication in the upper and lower respiratory tract was independent of the age of the animals. However, older hamsters exhibited more pronounced and consistent weight loss. In situ hybridization in the lungs identified viral RNA in bronchial epithelium, alveolar epithelial cells type I and II, and macrophages. Histopathology revealed clear age-dependent differences, with young hamsters launching earlier and stronger immune cell influx than aged hamsters. The latter developed conspicuous alveolar and perivascular edema, indicating vascular leakage. In contrast, we observed rapid lung recovery at day 14 after infection only in young hamsters. We propose that comparative assessment in young versus aged hamsters of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and treatments may yield valuable information, as this small-animal model appears to mirror age-dependent differences in human patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:21:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c79e87c91ce74e53b3d5b3ad3b30483e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:21:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-c79e87c91ce74e53b3d5b3ad3b30483e2023-11-20T07:20:17ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152020-07-0112777910.3390/v12070779Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian HamstersNikolaus Osterrieder0Luca D. Bertzbach1Kristina Dietert2Azza Abdelgawad3Daria Vladimirova4Dusan Kunec5Donata Hoffmann6Martin Beer7Achim D. Gruber8Jakob Trimpert9Institut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Veterinärpathologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 15, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virusdiagnostik, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, GermanyInstitut für Virusdiagnostik, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, GermanyInstitut für Veterinärpathologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 15, 14163 Berlin, GermanyInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, GermanyIn late 2019, an outbreak of a severe respiratory disease caused by an emerging coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, resulted in high morbidity and mortality in infected humans. Complete understanding of COVID-19, the multi-faceted disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, requires suitable small animal models, as does the development and evaluation of vaccines and antivirals. Since age-dependent differences of COVID-19 were identified in humans, we compared the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in young and aged Syrian hamsters. We show that virus replication in the upper and lower respiratory tract was independent of the age of the animals. However, older hamsters exhibited more pronounced and consistent weight loss. In situ hybridization in the lungs identified viral RNA in bronchial epithelium, alveolar epithelial cells type I and II, and macrophages. Histopathology revealed clear age-dependent differences, with young hamsters launching earlier and stronger immune cell influx than aged hamsters. The latter developed conspicuous alveolar and perivascular edema, indicating vascular leakage. In contrast, we observed rapid lung recovery at day 14 after infection only in young hamsters. We propose that comparative assessment in young versus aged hamsters of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and treatments may yield valuable information, as this small-animal model appears to mirror age-dependent differences in human patients.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/7/779coronavirus<i>Mesocricetus auratus</i>animal modelCOVID-19pneumoniaage-related disease |
| spellingShingle | Nikolaus Osterrieder Luca D. Bertzbach Kristina Dietert Azza Abdelgawad Daria Vladimirova Dusan Kunec Donata Hoffmann Martin Beer Achim D. Gruber Jakob Trimpert Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters Viruses coronavirus <i>Mesocricetus auratus</i> animal model COVID-19 pneumonia age-related disease |
| title | Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters |
| title_full | Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters |
| title_fullStr | Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters |
| title_short | Age-Dependent Progression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Syrian Hamsters |
| title_sort | age dependent progression of sars cov 2 infection in syrian hamsters |
| topic | coronavirus <i>Mesocricetus auratus</i> animal model COVID-19 pneumonia age-related disease |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/7/779 |
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