Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the Golden Syrian hamster causes lung pathology that resembles human coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, extrapulmonary pathologies associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and post-COVID sequelae remain to be understood. Here, we show, using a hamster model, that the early phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to an acute inflammatory response and lung pathologies, while the late phase of infection causes cardiovascular complications (CVCs) characterized by ventricular wall thickening associated with increased ventricular mass/body mass ratio and interstitial coronary fibrosis. Molecular profiling further substantiated our findings of CVC as SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters showed elevated levels of serum cardiac troponin I, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and long-chain fatty acid triglycerides. Serum metabolomics profiling of SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters identified N-acetylneuraminate, a functional metabolite found to be associated with CVC, as a metabolic marker was found to be common between SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters and COVID-19 patients. Together, we propose hamsters as a suitable animal model to study post-COVID sequelae associated with CVC, which could be extended to therapeutic interventions.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV2, cardiovascular, hamster, Other, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, pathology, metabolomics, SARS-COV-2 infection, Infection, lung, fibrosis, animal model, cardiac troponin, serum, cholesterol, Pathologies, metabolite, COVID-19 patients, Lung pathology, Coronavirus-2, marker, triglycerides, cardiovascular complication, acute respiratory syndrome, early phase, therapeutic interventions, low-density, late phase, interstitial, acute inflammatory response, elevated, characterized, functional, cause, fatty, SARS-CoV-2-infected hamster, ventricular, 【제목키워드】 SARS-COV-2 infection, cardiovascular complication,