Researchers find newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 can infect mice, unlike
the original version of the virus
The results highlight the potential for the virus to replicate and mutate
in rodents, which often live in close proximity to humans
Date:
January 19, 2022
Source:
Georgia State University
Summary:
A team of biology researchers has found that some of the newer
variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 can infect the
respiratory tract of wild mice, unlike the original strain that
emerged from China.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of biology researchers at Georgia State University has found
that some of the newer variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 can
infect the respiratory tract of wild mice, unlike the original strain
that emerged from China.
==========================================================================
The study, published in the journal Viruses, found that the Alpha
variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, and the Beta variant,
first found in South Africa, were able to replicate in the lungs of wild
mice, which the original version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not able
to do without scientists genetically modifying the mice.
This evolution of the virus means that regular laboratory mice are now a
useful model for researchers working to understand the virus, including
the long-term effects suffered by many survivors, and to test possible treatments, said Mukesh Kumar, a virologist and immunologist who led
the study.
Kumar said the results also highlight the potential for the virus to
replicate and mutate in rodents, which often live in close proximity to
city dwellers.
"The virus is now able to infect animal species much easier than it used
to be," Kumar said.
"So that does raise concerns about bats, rodents and other wild
animals. There may be another dangerous mutation that happens in animals
and eventually jumps into humans." Researchers and veterinarians have
found strains of the virus in white-tailed deer in several states;
gorillas, big cats, hippos and other animals in zoos; mink raised on
farms in Europe; and a small number of pet cats and dogs.
Kumar noted that many animals show few or no symptoms of infection,
though at least three endangered snow leopards in the U.S. have died due
to the virus. In Hong Kong, officials plan to euthanize more than 2,000 hamsters after finding nearly a dozen in a pet shop infected with the
Delta variant, though they noted there was no evidence that the animals
had infected people.
Public health experts and researchers generally agree that infected zoo
animals and pets have likely gotten the virus from people or other animals
and say there is low risk of transmission from these animals to humans.
Kumar's team found that the Beta variant was more able to infect mice than
the Alpha variant and generated a higher viral load in the lungs. The researchers are also studying whether wild mice can be infected with
the Delta and Omicron variants and expect to release results soon.
The other authors of the study are Ph.D. students Shannon Stone, Janhavi
Prasad Natekar, Pratima Kumari, Shaligram Sharma, Heather Pathak and
Tabassum Tasnim Auroni, and post-doctoral fellows Hussin Alwan Rothan
and Komal Arora.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Georgia_State_University. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Shannon Stone, Hussin Alwan Rothan, Janhavi Prasad Natekar, Pratima
Kumari, Shaligram Sharma, Heather Pathak, Komal Arora, Tabassum
Tasnim Auroni, Mukesh Kumar. SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Infect
the Respiratory Tract and Induce Inflammatory Response in Wild-Type
Laboratory Mice. Viruses, 2021; 14 (1): 27 DOI: 10.3390/v14010027 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220119155216.htm
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