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Common Laboratory Mice Are Susceptible to Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Beta Variant
- Source :
- Viruses, Vol 13, Iss 11, p 2263 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Small animal models are of crucial importance for assessing COVID-19 countermeasures. Common laboratory mice would be well-suited for this purpose but are not susceptible to infection with wild-type SARS-CoV-2. However, the development of mouse-adapted virus strains has revealed key mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that increase infectivity, and interestingly, many of these mutations are also present in naturally occurring SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. This suggests that these variants might have the ability to infect common laboratory mice. Herein we show that the SARS-CoV-2 beta variant attains infectibility to BALB/c mice and causes pulmonary changes within 2–3 days post infection, consistent with results seen in other murine models of COVID-19, at a reasonable virus dose (2 × 105 PFU). The findings suggest that common laboratory mice can serve as the animal model of choice for testing the effectiveness of antiviral drugs and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19994915
- Volume :
- 13
- Issue :
- 11
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Viruses
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.9db092c8cdc34f92a0a8969eeb34ef38
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v13112263