Systemic symptoms have often been observed in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in addition to pneumonia, however, the details are still unclear due to the lack of an appropriate animal model. In this study, we investigated and compared blood coagulation abnormalities and tissue damage between male Syrian hamsters of 9 (young) and over 36 (aged) weeks old after intranasal infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite similar levels of viral replication and inflammatory responses in the lungs of both age groups, aged but not young hamsters showed significant prolongation of prothrombin time and prominent acute kidney damage. Moreover, aged hamsters demonstrated increased intravascular coagulation time-dependently in the lungs, suggesting that consumption of coagulation factors causes prothrombin time prolongation. Furthermore, proximal urinary tract damage and mesangial matrix expansion were observed in the kidneys of the aged hamsters at early and later disease stages, respectively. Given that the severity and mortality of COVID-19 are higher in elderly human patients, the effect of aging on pathogenesis needs to be understood and should be considered for the selection of animal models. We, thus, propose that the aged hamster is a good small animal model for COVID-19 research.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, animal model, aged Syrian hamster, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, Pathogenesis, Mortality, Inflammatory responses, Pneumonia, severity, Infection, lung, Blood coagulation, Symptom, animal models, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, Coagulation, kidney, Viral, viral replication, Lungs, male, Patient, age, Urinary tract, Coagulation factors, hamster, respiratory, patients, prothrombin, intranasal, Inflammatory response, systemic, Prothrombin time, coagulation factor, Consumption, acute respiratory syndrome, mesangial matrix, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, tissue damage, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, kidneys, systemic symptoms, disease stages, COVID-19 research, abnormality, intravascular coagulation, lack, addition, investigated, demonstrated, cause, groups, proximal, acute kidney, 【제목키워드】 coronavirus 2, hamster, damage,