The Post-Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Two Macaque Species Is Associated with Signs of Ongoing Virus Replication and Pathology in Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Tissues.
Böszörményi, Kinga P; Stammes, Marieke A; Fagrouch, Zahra Cet al.
[en] The post-acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection was investigated in rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). During the acute phase of infection, SARS-CoV-2 was shed via the nose and throat, and viral RNA was occasionally detected in feces. This phase coincided with a transient change in systemic immune activation. Even after the alleged resolution of the infection, computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed pulmonary lesions and activated tracheobronchial lymph nodes in all animals. Post-mortem histological examination of the lung tissue revealed mostly marginal or resolving minimal lesions that were indicative of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evidence for SARS-CoV-2-induced histopathology was also found in extrapulmonary tissue samples, such as conjunctiva, cervical, and mesenteric lymph nodes. However, 5-6 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 exposure, upon necropsy, viral RNA was still detectable in a wide range of tissue samples in 50% of the macaques and included amongst others the heart, the respiratory tract and surrounding lymph nodes, salivary gland, and conjunctiva. Subgenomic messenger RNA was detected in the lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes, indicative of ongoing virus replication during the post-acute phase. These results could be relevant for understanding the long-term consequences of COVID-19 in humans.
Disciplines :
Veterinary medicine & animal health
Author, co-author :
Böszörményi, Kinga P ; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Stammes, Marieke A ; Department of Parasitology, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Fagrouch, Zahra C; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Kiemenyi-Kayere, Gwendoline; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Niphuis, Henk; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Mortier, Daniella; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
van Driel, Nikki ; Animal Science Department, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Nieuwenhuis, Ivonne; Department of Parasitology, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Vervenne, Richard A W; Department of Parasitology, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Acar, Roja Fidel; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Zuiderwijk-Sick, Ella; Alternatives Unit, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Meijer, Lisette; Department of Parasitology, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Mooij, Petra ; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Remarque, Ed J; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Oostermeijer, Herman; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Koopman, Gerrit ; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
Hoste, Alexis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Microbial technologies ; Eurofins-Inmunología y Genética Aplicada (Eurofins-INGENASA), 28037 Madrid, Spain
Sastre, Patricia; Eurofins-Inmunología y Genética Aplicada (Eurofins-INGENASA), 28037 Madrid, Spain
Haagmans, Bart L ; Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Bontrop, Ronald E; Department of Comparative Genetics and Refinement, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands ; Department of Biology, Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
Langermans, Jan A M ; Animal Science Department, BPRC, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands ; Unit Animals in Science and Society, Department of Population Health Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, Utrecht University, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands
Bogers, Willy M ; Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Department of Virology, 2288 GJ Rijswijk, The Netherlands
The Post-Acute Phase of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Two Macaque Species Is Associated with Signs of Ongoing Virus Replication and Pathology in Pulmonary and Extrapulmonary Tissues.
H2020 - 721367 - HONOURs - Host switching pathogens, infectious outbreaks and zoonosis; a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network
Funders :
UE - Union Européenne [BE]
Funding text :
Funding: This study was supported by funding from the Biomedical Primate Research Centre. K.P.B. was supported by the European Union’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network HONOURs; grant agreement no. 721367. This publication was also supported by the European Virus Archive GLOBAL (EVA-GLOBAL) project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 871029.This study was supported by funding from the Biomedical Primate Research Centre. K.P.B. was supported by the European Union?s Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Innovative Training Network HONOURs; grant agreement no. 721367. This publication was also supported by the European Virus Archive GLOBAL (EVA-GLOBAL) project that has received funding from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 871029.
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