Epidemiological studies of the COVID-19 patients have suggested the male bias in outcomes of lung illness. To experimentally demonstrate the epidemiological results, we performed animal studies to infect male and female Syrian hamsters with SARS-CoV-2. Remarkably, high viral titer in nasal washings was detectable in male hamsters who presented symptoms of weight loss, weakness, piloerection, hunched back and abdominal respiration, as well as severe pneumonia, pulmonary edema, consolidation, and fibrosis. In contrast with the males, the female hamsters showed much lower shedding viral titers, moderate symptoms, and relatively mild lung pathogenesis. The obvious differences in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and severity of lung pathogenesis between male and female hamsters provided experimental evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID-19 are associated with gender.
【저자키워드】 Infectious diseases, Respiratory tract diseases, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Pathogenesis, SARS-COV-2 infection, susceptibility, severity, lung, Gender, fibrosis, nasal, Symptom, outcome, Symptoms, Viral, severity of COVID-19, male, female, edema, Mild, Respiration, Pulmonary edema, epidemiological, severe pneumonia, hamster, moderate, consolidation, COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 patient, moderate symptoms, weight loss, abdominal respiration, epidemiological studies, weakness, viral titers, experimental evidence, viral titer, piloerection, infect, males, performed, detectable, provided, suggested, much lower, 【제목키워드】 susceptibility, Infection, pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2,