Host parameters and mode of infection influence outcome in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters

Bryan D Griffin; Bryce M Warner; Mable Chan; Emelissa Valcourt; Nikesh Tailor; Logan Banadyga; Anders Leung; Shihua He; Amrit S Boese; Jonathan Audet; Wenguang Cao; Estella Moffat; Lauren Garnett; Kevin Tierney; Kaylie N Tran; Alixandra Albietz; Kathy Manguiat; Geoff Soule; Alexander Bello; Robert Vendramelli; Jessica Lin; Yvon Deschambault; Wenjun Zhu; Heidi Wood; Samira Mubareka; David Safronetz; James E Strong; Carissa Embury-Hyatt; Darwyn Kobasa

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103530

Host parameters and mode of infection influence outcome in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters

iScience. 2021 Dec 17;24(12):103530. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103530. Epub 2021 Nov 27.

Authors

Bryan D Griffin¹, Bryce M Warner^{1

2}, Mable Chan¹, Emelissa Valcourt¹, Nikesh Tailor¹, Logan Banadyga¹, Anders Leung¹, Shihua He¹, Amrit S Boese¹, Jonathan Audet¹, Wenguang Cao¹, Estella Moffat³, Lauren Garnett^{1

2}, Kevin Tierney¹, Kaylie N Tran¹, Alixandra Albietz¹, Kathy Manguiat¹, Geoff Soule¹, Alexander Bello¹, Robert Vendramelli¹, Jessica Lin¹, Yvon Deschambault¹, Wenjun Zhu¹, Heidi Wood¹, Samira Mubareka^{4

5}, David Safronetz^{1

2}, James E Strong^{1

2

6}, Carissa Embury-Hyatt³, Darwyn Kobasa^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, 1015 Arlington Street, Winnipeg R3E 3R2, MB, Canada.
² Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 745 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg R3E 0J9, MB, Canada.
³ National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 1015 Arlington Street, Winnipeg R3E 3M4, MB, Canada.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada.
⁵ Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto M4N 3M5, ON, Canada.
⁶ Pediatrics & Child Health, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 745 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg R3E 0J9, MB, Canada.

Abstract

The golden hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection recapitulates key characteristics of COVID-19. In this work we examined the influence of the route of exposure, sex, and age on SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in hamsters. We report that delivery of SARS-CoV-2 by a low- versus high-volume intranasal or intragastric route results in comparable viral titers in the lung and viral shedding. However, low-volume intranasal exposure results in milder weight loss, whereas intragastric exposure leads to a diminished capacity to regain body weight. Male hamsters, and particularly older male hamsters, display an impaired capacity to recover from illness and delayed viral clearance. These factors were found to influence the nature of the host inflammatory cytokine response but had a minimal effect on the quality and durability of the humoral immune response and susceptibility to re-infection. These data further elucidate key factors that impact pre-clinical challenge studies carried out in the hamster model of COVID-19.

Keywords: Cellular physiology; Microbiology; Virology.