scholarly journals Convalescence from prototype SARS-CoV-2 protects Syrian hamsters from disease caused by the Omicron variant

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn A Ryan ◽  
Robert J Watson ◽  
Kevin R Bewley ◽  
Christopher A Burton ◽  
Oliver Carnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Hamster Model ◽  
Initial Infection ◽  
Syrian Hamsters ◽  
Clinical Observations ◽  
Mutation Profile ◽  
Prior Infection ◽  
Induced Immunity

The mutation profile of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant poses a concern for naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity. We investigated the ability of prior infection with an early SARS-CoV-2, 99.99% identical to Wuhan-Hu-1, to protect against disease caused by the Omicron variant. We established that infection with Omicron in naive Syrian hamsters resulted in a less severe disease than a comparable dose of prototype SARS-CoV-2 (Australia/VIC01/2020), with fewer clinical signs and less weight loss. We present data to show that these clinical observations were almost absent in convalescent hamsters challenged with the same dose of Omicron 50 days after an initial infection with Australia/VIC01/2020. The data provide evidence for immunity raised against prototype SARS-CoV-2 being protective against Omicron in the Syrian hamster model. Further investigation is required to conclusively determine whether Omicron is less pathogenic in Syrian hamsters and whether this is predictive of pathogenicity in humans.

scholarly journals Disruption of Adaptive Immunity Enhances Disease in SARS-CoV-2-Infected Syrian Hamsters

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Brocato ◽  
Lucia M. Principe ◽  
Robert K. Kim ◽  
Xiankun Zeng ◽  
Janice A. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Syrian Hamsters ◽  
Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody

ABSTRACT Animal models recapitulating human COVID-19 disease, especially severe disease, are urgently needed to understand pathogenesis and to evaluate candidate vaccines and therapeutics. Here, we develop novel severe-disease animal models for COVID-19 involving disruption of adaptive immunity in Syrian hamsters. Cyclophosphamide (CyP) immunosuppressed or RAG2 knockout (KO) hamsters were exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the respiratory route. Both the CyP-treated and RAG2 KO hamsters developed clinical signs of disease that were more severe than those in immunocompetent hamsters, notably weight loss, viral loads, and fatality (RAG2 KO only). Disease was prolonged in transiently immunosuppressed hamsters and was uniformly lethal in RAG2 KO hamsters. We evaluated the protective efficacy of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody and found that pretreatment, even in immunosuppressed animals, limited infection. Our results suggest that functional B and/or T cells are not only important for the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 but also play an early role in protection from acute disease. IMPORTANCE Syrian hamsters are in use as a model of disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Pathology is pronounced in the upper and lower respiratory tract, and disease signs and endpoints include weight loss and viral RNA and/or infectious virus in swabs and organs (e.g., lungs). However, a high dose of virus is needed to produce disease, and the disease resolves rapidly. Here, we demonstrate that immunosuppressed hamsters are susceptible to low doses of virus and develop more severe and prolonged disease. We demonstrate the efficacy of a novel neutralizing monoclonal antibody using the cyclophosphamide transient suppression model. Furthermore, we demonstrate that RAG2 knockout hamsters develop severe/fatal disease when exposed to SARS-CoV-2. These immunosuppressed hamster models provide researchers with new tools for evaluating therapies and vaccines and understanding COVID-19 pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Disruption of Adaptive Immunity Enhances Disease in SARS-CoV-2 Infected Syrian Hamsters

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Brocato ◽  
Lucia Principe ◽  
Robert Kimi ◽  
Xiankun Zeng ◽  
Janice Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Syrian Hamsters ◽  
Viral Loads ◽  
Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody

Abstract Animal models recapitulating human COVID-19 disease, especially with severe disease, are urgently needed to understand pathogenesis and evaluate candidate vaccines and therapeutics. Here, we develop novel severe disease animal models for COVID-19 involving disruption of adaptive immunity in Syrian hamsters. Cyclophosphamide (CyP) immunosuppressed or RAG2 knockout (KO) hamsters were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by the respiratory route. Both the CyP-treated and RAG2 KO hamsters developed clinical signs of disease that were more severe than in immunocompetent hamsters, notably weight loss, viral loads, and fatality (RAG2 KO only). Disease was prolonged in transiently immunosuppressed hamsters and uniformly lethal in RAG2 KO hamsters. We evaluated the protective efficacy of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody and found that pretreatment, even in immunosuppressed animals, limited infection. Our results suggest that functional B and/or T cells are not only important for the clearance of SARS-CoV-2, but also play an early role in protection from acute disease.

scholarly journals The B.1.427/1.429 (epsilon) SARS-CoV-2 variants are more virulent than ancestral B.1 (614G) in Syrian hamsters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Carroll ◽  
Douglas Fox ◽  
Neeltje van Doremalen ◽  
Erin Ball ◽  
Mary Kate Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Body Weight Loss ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
Lung Pathology ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Hamster Model ◽  
Syrian Hamsters

As novel SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to emerge, it is critical that their potential to cause severe disease and evade vaccine-induced immunity is rapidly assessed in humans and studied in animal models. In early January 2021, a novel variant of concern (VOC) designated B.1.429 comprising 2 lineages, B.1.427 and B.1.429, was originally detected in California (CA) and shown to enhance infectivity in vitro and decrease antibody neutralization by plasma from convalescent patients and vaccine recipients. Here we examine the virulence, transmissibility, and susceptibility to pre-existing immunity for B 1.427 and B 1.429 in the Syrian hamster model. We find that both strains exhibit enhanced virulence as measured by increased body weight loss compared to hamsters infected with ancestral B.1 (614G), with B.1.429 causing the most body weight loss among all 3 lineages. Faster dissemination from airways to parenchyma and more severe lung pathology at both early and late stages were also observed with B.1.429 infections relative to B.1. (614G) and B.1.427 infections. In addition, subgenomic viral RNA (sgRNA) levels were highest in oral swabs of hamsters infected with B.1.429, however sgRNA levels in lungs were similar in all three strains. This demonstrates that B.1.429 replicates to higher levels than ancestral B.1 (614G) or B.1.427 in the upper respiratory tract (URT) but not in the lungs. In multi-virus in-vivo competition experiments, we found that epsilon (B.1.427/B.1.429) and gamma (P.1) dramatically outcompete alpha (B.1.1.7), beta (B.1.351) and zeta (P.2) in the lungs. In the URT gamma, and epsilon dominate, but the highly infectious alpha variant also maintains a moderate size niche. We did not observe significant differences in airborne transmission efficiency among the B.1.427, B.1.429 and ancestral B.1 (614G) variants in hamsters. These results demonstrate enhanced virulence and high relative fitness of the epsilon (B.1.427/B.1.429) variant in Syrian hamsters compared to an ancestral B.1 (614G) strain.

scholarly journals A Single Amino Acid Change in nsP1 Attenuates Neurovirulence of the Sindbis-Group Alphavirus S.A.AR86

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 4207-4213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark T. Heise ◽  
Dennis A. Simpson ◽  
Robert E. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Nonstructural Protein ◽  
Infectious Clone ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Single Amino Acid Change ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT S.A.AR86, a member of the Sindbis group of alphaviruses, is neurovirulent in adult mice and has a unique threonine at position 538 of nsP1; nonneurovirulent members of this group of alphaviruses encode isoleucine. Isoleucine was introduced at position 538 in the wild-type S.A.AR86 infectious clone, ps55, and virus derived from this mutant clone, ps51, was significantly attenuated for neurovirulence compared to that derived from ps55. Intracranial (i.c.) s55 infection resulted in severe disease, including hind limb paresis, conjunctivitis, weight loss, and death in 89% of animals. In contrast, s51 caused fewer clinical signs and no mortality. Nevertheless, comparison of the virus derived from the mutant (ps51) and wild-type (ps55) S.A.AR86 molecular clones demonstrated that s51 grew as well as or better than the wild-type s55 virus in tissue culture and that viral titers in the brain following i.c. infection with s51 were equivalent to those of wild-type s55 virus. Analysis of viral replication within the brain by in situ hybridization revealed that both viruses established infection in similar regions of the brain at early times postinfection (12 to 72 h). However, at late times postinfection, the wild-type s55 virus had spread throughout large areas of the brain, while the s51 mutant exhibited a restricted pattern of replication. This suggests that s51 is either defective in spreading throughout the brain at late times postinfection or is cleared more rapidly than s55. Further evidence for the contribution of nsP1 Thr 538 to S.A.AR86 neurovirulence was provided by experiments in which a threonine residue was introduced at nsP1 position 538 of Sindbis virus strain TR339, which is nonneurovirulent in weanling mice. The resulting virus, 39ns1, demonstrated significantly increased neurovirulence and morbidity, including weight loss and hind limb paresis. These results demonstrate a role for alphavirus nonstructural protein genes in adult mouse neurovirulence.

scholarly journals Naturally-acquired immunity in Syrian Golden Hamsters provides protection from re-exposure to emerging heterosubtypic SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.351

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan J. Clark ◽  
Parul Sharma ◽  
Eleanor G. Bentley ◽  
Adam C. Harding ◽  
Anja Kipar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Acquired Immunity ◽  
Hamster Model ◽  
Syrian Golden Hamsters ◽  
Subsequent Exposure ◽  
Acquired Immune Responses ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Prior Infection

AbstractThe ability of acquired immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 to protect after subsequent exposure to emerging variants of concern (VOC) such as B1.1.7 and B1.351 is currently of high significance. Here, we use a hamster model of COVID-19 to show that prior infection with a strain representative of the original circulating lineage B of SARS-CoV-2 induces protection from clinical signs upon subsequent challenge with either B1.1.7 or B1.351 viruses, which recently emerged in the UK and South Africa, respectively. The results indicate that these emergent VOC may be unlikely to cause disease in individuals that are already immune due to prior infection, and this has positive implications for overall levels of infection and COVID-19 disease.

scholarly journals Disruption of Adaptive Immunity Enhances Disease in SARS-CoV-2 Infected Syrian Hamsters

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Brocato ◽  
Lucia M. Principe ◽  
Robert K. Kim ◽  
Xiankun Zeng ◽  
Janice A. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Adaptive Immunity ◽  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Syrian Hamsters ◽  
Viral Loads ◽  
Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody

AbstractAnimal models recapitulating human COVID-19 disease, especially with severe disease, are urgently needed to understand pathogenesis and evaluate candidate vaccines and therapeutics. Here, we develop novel severe disease animal models for COVID-19 involving disruption of adaptive immunity in Syrian hamsters. Cyclophosphamide (CyP) immunosuppressed or RAG2 knockout (KO) hamsters were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by the respiratory route. Both the CyP-treated and RAG2 KO hamsters developed clinical signs of disease that were more severe than in immunocompetent hamsters, notably weight loss, viral loads, and fatality (RAG2 KO only). Disease was prolonged in transiently immunosuppressed hamsters and uniformly lethal in RAG2 KO hamsters. We evaluated the protective efficacy of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody and found that pretreatment, even in immunosuppressed animals, limited infection. Our results suggest that functional B and/or T cells are not only important for the clearance of SARS-CoV-2, but also play an early role in protection from acute disease.One Sentence SummaryAn antibody targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 limits infection in immunosuppressed Syrian hamster models.

scholarly journals Simulation of the Clinical and Pathological Manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Golden Syrian Hamster Model: Implications for Disease Pathogenesis and Transmissibility

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan ◽  
Anna Jinxia Zhang ◽  
Shuofeng Yuan ◽  
Vincent Kwok-Man Poon ◽  
Chris Chung-Sing Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Viral Load ◽  
Syrian Hamster ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Adaptive Mutation ◽  
Lung Pathology ◽  
Hamster Model ◽  
Golden Syrian Hamster ◽  
Virus Challenge

Abstract Background A physiological small-animal model that resembles COVID-19 with low mortality is lacking. Methods Molecular docking on the binding between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) of common laboratory mammals and the receptor-binding domain of the surface spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 suggested that the golden Syrian hamster is an option. Virus challenge, contact transmission, and passive immunoprophylaxis studies were performed. Serial organ tissues and blood were harvested for histopathology, viral load and titer, chemokine/cytokine level, and neutralizing antibody titer. Results The Syrian hamster could be consistently infected by SARS-CoV-2. Maximal clinical signs of rapid breathing, weight loss, histopathological changes from the initial exudative phase of diffuse alveolar damage with extensive apoptosis to the later proliferative phase of tissue repair, airway and intestinal involvement with viral nucleocapsid protein expression, high lung viral load, and spleen and lymphoid atrophy associated with marked chemokine/cytokine activation were observed within the first week of virus challenge. The mean lung virus titer was between 105 and 107 TCID50/g. Challenged index hamsters consistently infected naive contact hamsters housed within the same cages, resulting in similar pathology but not weight loss. All infected hamsters recovered and developed mean serum neutralizing antibody titers ≥1:427 14 days postchallenge. Immunoprophylaxis with early convalescent serum achieved significant decrease in lung viral load but not in lung pathology. No consistent nonsynonymous adaptive mutation of the spike was found in viruses isolated from the infected hamsters. Conclusions Besides satisfying Koch’s postulates, this readily available hamster model is an important tool for studying transmission, pathogenesis, treatment, and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.

scholarly journals Ancestral SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells cross-recognize Omicron (B.1.1.529)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Gao ◽  
Curtis Cai ◽  
Alba Grifoni ◽  
Thomas Müller ◽  
Julia Niessl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Adaptive Immune System ◽  
Viral Escape ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Immune Reactivity ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Prior Infection ◽  
Induced Immunity

Abstract The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 variant-of-concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) has destabilized global efforts to control the impact of COVID-19. Recent data have suggested that B.1.1.529 can readily infect people with naturally acquired or vaccine-induced immunity, facilitated in some cases by viral escape from antibodies that neutralize ancestral SARS-CoV-2. However, severe disease appears to be relatively uncommon in such individuals, highlighting a potential role for other components of the adaptive immune system. We report here that SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells induced by prior infection and, more extensively, by mRNA vaccination provide comprehensive heterologous immune reactivity against B.1.1.529. Pairwise comparisons across groups further revealed that SARS-CoV-2 spike-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells exhibited similar functional attributes, memory distributions, and phenotypic traits in response to the ancestral strain or B.1.1.529. Our data indicate that established SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, especially after mRNA vaccination, remain largely intact against B.1.1.529.

scholarly journals An immune correlate of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of reinfections

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Elizabeth Maier ◽  
Angel Balmaseda ◽  
Sergio Ojeda ◽  
Cristhiam Cerpas ◽  
Nery Sanchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Disease ◽  
Severe Infection ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Subclinical Disease ◽  
Immune Correlate ◽  
Transmission Study ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
And Control ◽  
Prior Infection ◽  
Induced Immunity

Background. An immune correlate of protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection is urgently needed. Methods. We used an ongoing household cohort with an embedded transmission study that closely monitors participants regardless of symptom status. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to measure infections and seropositivity. Sequencing was performed to determine circulating strains of SARS-CoV-2. We investigated the protection associated with seropositivity resulting from prior infection, the anti-spike antibody titers needed for protection, and we compared the severity of first and second infections. Results. In March 2021, 62.3% of the cohort was seropositive. After March 2021, gamma and delta variants predominated. Seropositivity was associated with 69.2% protection from any infection (95% CI: 60.7%-75.9%), with higher protection against moderate or severe infection (79.4%, 95% CI: 64.9%-87.9%). Anti-spike titers of 327 and 2,551 were associated with 50% and 80% protection from any infection; titers of 284 and 656 were sufficient for protection against moderate or severe disease. Second infections were less severe than first infections (Relative Risk (RR) of moderated or severe disease: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.38-0.98; RR of subclinical disease:1.9, 95% CI: 1.33-2.73). Conclusions. Prior infection-induced immunity is protective against infection when predominantly gamma and delta SARS-CoV-2 circulated. The protective antibody titers presented may be useful for vaccine policy and control measures. While second infections were somewhat less severe, they were not as mild as ideal. A strategy involving vaccination will be needed to ease the burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 infection of Syrian hamster does not cause more severe disease and is protected by naturally acquired immunity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivette A Nunez ◽  
Christopher Z Lien ◽  
Prabhuanand Selvaraj ◽  
Charles B Stauft ◽  
Shufeng Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Escape ◽  
Natural Infection ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
Lung Pathology ◽  
Viral Loads ◽  
Induced Immunity

Epidemiological studies have revealed the emergence of multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC), including the lineage B.1.1.7 that is rapidly replacing old variants. The B.1.1.7 variant has been linked to increased morbidity rates, transmissibility, and potentially mortality. To assess viral fitness in vivo and to address whether the B.1.1.7 variant is capable of immune escape, we conducted infection and re-infection studies in naive and convalescent Syrian hamsters (>10 months old). Hamsters infected by either a B.1.1.7 variant or a B.1 (G614) variant exhibited comparable viral loads and pathology. Convalescent hamsters that were previously infected by the original D614 variant were protected from disease following B.1.1.7 challenge with no observable clinical signs or lung pathology. Altogether, our study did not find that the B.1.1.7 variant significantly differs from the B.1 variant in pathogenicity in hamsters and that natural infection-induced immunity confers protection against a secondary challenge by the B1.1.7 variant.

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