Sex-Based Differences in Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection.

ABSTRACT: Pathogenic human coronaviruses (CoVs), such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and the Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV, cause acute respiratory illness. Epidemiological data from the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic and recent Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak indicate that there may be sex-dependent differences in disease outcomes. To investigate these differences, we infected male and female mice of different age groups with SARS-CoV and analyzed their susceptibility to the infection. Our results showed that male mice were more susceptible to SARS-CoV infection compared with age-matched females. The degree of sex bias to SARS-CoV infection increased with advancing age, such that middle-aged mice showed much more pronounced differences compared with young mice. Enhanc

SUBMITTER: Channappanavar R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5450662 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature