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da Silva Santos Y, Gamon THM, de Azevedo MSP, Telezynski BL, de Souza EE, de Oliveira DBL, Dombrowski JG, Rosa-Fernandes L, Palmisano G, de Moura Carvalho LJ, Luvizotto MCR, Wrenger C, Covas DT, Curi R, Marinho CRF, Durigon EL, Epiphanio S. Virulence Profiles of Wild-Type, P.1 and Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variants in K18-hACE2 Transgenic Mice. Viruses 2023; 15:v15040999. [PMID: 37112979 PMCID: PMC10146242 DOI: 10.3390/v15040999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Since December 2019, the world has been experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and we now face the emergence of several variants. We aimed to assess the differences between the wild-type (Wt) (Wuhan) strain and the P.1 (Gamma) and Delta variants using infected K18-hACE2 mice. The clinical manifestations, behavior, virus load, pulmonary capacity, and histopathological alterations were analyzed. The P.1-infected mice showed weight loss and more severe clinical manifestations of COVID-19 than the Wt and Delta-infected mice. The respiratory capacity was reduced in the P.1-infected mice compared to the other groups. Pulmonary histological findings demonstrated that a more aggressive disease was generated by the P.1 and Delta variants compared to the Wt strain of the virus. The quantification of the SARS-CoV-2 viral copies varied greatly among the infected mice although it was higher in P.1-infected mice on the day of death. Our data revealed that K18-hACE2 mice infected with the P.1 variant develop a more severe infectious disease than those infected with the other variants, despite the significant heterogeneity among the mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin da Silva Santos
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunopathology of Malaria, Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- Laboratory of Malaria Research, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
| | - Thais Helena Martins Gamon
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Marcela Santiago Pacheco de Azevedo
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunoparasitology, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Bruna Larotonda Telezynski
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Edmarcia Elisa de Souza
- Unit for Drug Discovery, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Danielle Bruna Leal de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo 05652-900, Brazil
| | - Jamille Gregório Dombrowski
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunoparasitology, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Livia Rosa-Fernandes
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- GlycoProteomics Laboratory, Department of Parasitology, ICB, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Giuseppe Palmisano
- GlycoProteomics Laboratory, Department of Parasitology, ICB, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia
| | | | | | - Carsten Wrenger
- Unit for Drug Discovery, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Dimas Tadeu Covas
- Butantan Institute, São Paulo 05508-040, Brazil
- Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Rui Curi
- Interdisciplinary Program of Health Sciences, Cruzeiro do Sul University, São Paulo 08060-070, Brazil
- Immunobiological Production Section, Bioindustrial Center, Butantan Institute, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
| | - Claudio Romero Farias Marinho
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunoparasitology, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Edison Luiz Durigon
- Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
- Scientific Plataform Pasteur/USP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-020, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Epiphanio
- Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunopathology of Malaria, Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
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Yang D, Hansel DE, Curlin ME, Townes JM, Messer WB, Fan G, Qin X. Bimodal distribution pattern associated with the PCR cycle threshold (Ct) and implications in COVID-19 infections. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14544. [PMID: 36008543 PMCID: PMC9406279 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18735-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is notable for its extremely high level of viral replication in respiratory epithelial cells, relative to other cell types. This may partially explain the high transmissibility and rapid global dissemination observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle threshold (Ct) number has been widely used as a proxy for viral load based on the inverse relationship between Ct number and amplifiable genome copies present in a sample. We examined two PCR platforms (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019-nCoV Real-time RT-PCR, Integrated DNA Technologies; and TaqPath COVID-19 multi-plex combination kit, ThermoFisher Scientific) for their performance characteristics and Ct distribution patterns based on results generated from 208,947 clinical samples obtained between October 2020 and September 2021. From 14,231 positive tests, Ct values ranged from 8 to 39 and displayed a pronounced bimodal distribution. The bimodal distribution persisted when stratified by gender, age, and time period of sample collection during which different viral variants circulated. This finding may be a result of heterogeneity in disease progression or host response to infection irrespective of age, gender, or viral variants. Quantification of respiratory mucosal viral load may provide additional insight into transmission and clinical indicators helpful for infection control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doris Yang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, L-113, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Donna E Hansel
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, L-113, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Marcel E Curlin
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - John M Townes
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - William B Messer
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.,Department Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Guang Fan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, L-113, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Xuan Qin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, L-113, Portland, OR, 97239, USA.
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