Abstract
Considering the global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, generating suitable experimental models is imperative. For pre-clinical studies, researchers require animal models displaying pathological features similar to those observed in patients; therefore, establishing animal models for COVID-19 is crucial. The golden Syrian hamster model mimics conditions observed in humans with mild severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, a golden Syrian hamster model of severe infection has not been reported. J2N-k hamsters are utilized as a cardiomyopathy model; therefore, we used cardiomyopathic J2N-k hamsters showing conditions similar to those of severe COVID-19 complicated with cardiovascular diseases, as patients with cardiovascular diseases exhibit a higher risk of morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 than patients without cardiovascular diseases. Unlike that in golden Syrian hamsters, SARS-CoV-2 infection was lethal in J2N-k hamsters, with a median lethal dose of 10 4.75 plaque-forming units for the S clade of SARS-CoV-2 (A, GenBank: MW466791.1). High viral titers and viral genomes were detected in the lungs of J2N-k and golden Syrian hamster models harvested 3 days after infection. Pathological features of SARS-CoV-2-associated lung injury were observed in both models. The J2N-k hamster model can aid in developing vaccines or therapeutics against COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19; Golden Syrian hamster; J2N-k hamster; SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, golden Syrian hamster, J2N-k hamster, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus disease 2019, Severe infection, Vaccine, coronavirus, pandemic, severe COVID-19, Therapeutics, hamsters, SARS-COV-2 infection, Human, Infection, lung, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular diseases, animal model, animal models, Lung injury, Lungs, morbidity, Patient, Mild, clade, viral genomes, morbidity and mortality, hamster, Cardiomyopathy, experimental model, dose, viral genome, acute respiratory syndrome, plaque-forming unit, lethal dose, higher risk, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, viral titer, researcher, feature, median lethal dose, pathological, reported, median, condition, imperative, displaying, 【제목키워드】 coronavirus, cardiovascular disease, Patient, acute respiratory syndrome, caused,