The Abundant Distribution and Duplication of SARS-CoV-2 in the Cerebrum and Lungs Promote a High Mortality Rate in Transgenic hACE2-C57 Mice.

ABSTRACT: Patients with COVID-19 have been reported to experience neurological complications, although the main cause of death in these patients was determined to be lung damage. Notably, SARS-CoV-2-induced pathological injuries in brains with a viral presence were also found in all fatal animal cases. Thus, an appropriate animal model that mimics severe infections in the lungs and brain needs to be developed. In this paper, we compared SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics and pathological injuries between C57BL/6Smoc-Ace2^{em3(hACE2-flag-Wpre-pA)Smoc} transgenic hACE2-C57 mice and Syrian hamsters. Importantly, the greatest viral distribution in mice occurred in the cerebral cortex neuron area, where pathological injuries and cell death were observed. In contrast, in hamsters, viral replicat

SUBMITTER: Li H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10815841 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature