Mild and Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection Induces Respiratory and Intestinal Microbiome Changes in the K18-hACE2 Transgenic Mouse Model.

ABSTRACT: Transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in millions of deaths and declining economies around the world. K18-hACE2 mice develop disease resembling severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in a virus dose-dependent manner. The relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and the intestinal or respiratory microbiome is not fully understood. In this context, we characterized the cecal and lung microbiomes of SARS-CoV-2-challenged K18-hACE2 transgenic mice in the presence or absence of treatment with the M^pro inhibitor GC-376. Cecum microbiome showed decreased Shannon and inverse (Inv) Simpson diversity indexes correlating with SARS-CoV-2 infection dosage and a difference of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distances among control and infected mice. Bacterial phy

SUBMITTER: Seibert B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8455067 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature