Finding proper animal models for SARS-CoV-2 is challenging. Here, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College were able to create an animal model, specifically the rhesus macaque animal model, to recapitulate clinical and pathological manifestations of COVID-19. The rhesus monkeys were able to be infected via the nasal route, just like humans. The monkeys displayed SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding, and this indicates successful reproduction of the viral progeny. This was seen in the nose and stool for up to 27 days. The similarities were like that of humans. Also, they saw the progression of pneumonia from mild to marked, indicating additional similarity to human infection. The researchers then studied the T cell response and cytokines, which were similar to human responses in terms of the viral kinetics. They concluded that the rhesus monkey could be used to study COVID-19 infection. They also suggested that T cell response and looking at the cytokine/chemokine changes could be used as parameters for evaluating potential treatments. This leads the way for potential cures and vaccines. What was interesting was how comprehensive the article measured changes in the rhesus monkeys, across different samples.
So far, several animal models have been proposed for studying SARS-CoV-2, including green monkeys and rhesus macaques. Like influenza, ferrets have also been used as animal models due to their ease of infectivity. Cats have also been used, as it has been surprisingly shown that cats can get coronavirus too! It would be interesting to study early treatments on these models.
- Fan
Source:
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008949
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2787-6
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