The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105253

. 2022 Feb:198:105253.

doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105253. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

Affiliations

¹ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
² KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium.
³ Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Unit, Leuven, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁵ Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁷ KU Leuven Department of Imaging and Pathology, Translational Cell and Tissue Research, Division of Translational Cell and Tissue Research, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁸ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium; Global Virus Network, GVN, Leuven, Belgium.
⁹ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium; Global Virus Network, GVN, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: johan.neyts@kuleuven.be.

PMID: 35066015
PMCID: PMC8776349
DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105253

The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

Rana Abdelnabi et al. Antiviral Res. 2022 Feb.

. 2022 Feb:198:105253.

doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105253. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
² KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium.
³ Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Unit, Leuven, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁵ Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁷ KU Leuven Department of Imaging and Pathology, Translational Cell and Tissue Research, Division of Translational Cell and Tissue Research, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
⁸ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium; Global Virus Network, GVN, Leuven, Belgium.
⁹ KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery, Leuven, Belgium; Global Virus Network, GVN, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: johan.neyts@kuleuven.be.

PMID: 35066015
PMCID: PMC8776349
DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105253

Abstract

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) has exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. End of November 2021, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant namely the omicron (B.1.1.529) emerged. Since this omicron variant is heavily mutated in the spike protein, WHO classified this variant as the 5th variant of concern (VoC). We previously demonstrated that the ancestral strain and the other SARS-CoV-2 VoCs replicate efficiently in and cause a COVID19-like pathology in Syrian hamsters. We here wanted to explore the infectivity of the omicron variant in comparison to the ancestral D614G strain in the hamster model. Strikingly, in hamsters that had been infected with the omicron variant, a 3 log₁₀ lower viral RNA load was detected in the lungs as compared to animals infected with D614G and no infectious virus was detectable in this organ. Moreover, histopathological examination of the lungs from omicron-infected hamsters revealed no signs of peri-bronchial inflammation or bronchopneumonia.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hamsters; Infectivity; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2 VoC.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Characterization of the *in vivo* replication of the omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant versus the ancestral D614G strain. (a) Set-up of the Syrian hamster infection study. (b) Viral RNA levels in the lungs of hamsters infected with 10³ TCID₅₀ of BavPat (D614G) strain (n = 6) or the omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant (n = 6) on day 4 post-infection (pi) are expressed as log₁₀ SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies per mg lung tissue. Individual data and median values are presented. (c) Infectious viral loads in the lungs of hamsters infected with the D614G strain or the omicron variant at day 4 pi are expressed as log₁₀ TCID₅₀ per mg lung tissue. Individual data and median values are presented. (d) Weight change at day 4 pi in percentage, normalized to the body weight at the time of infection. Bars represent means ± SD. Data were analyzed with the Mann−Whitney U test, **P < 0.01. All data are from a single experiment.

**Fig. 2**
Histopathology of lungs of Syrian hamsters infected with either the D614G strain or the omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. (a) Representative H&E images of lungs of hamsters infected with 10³ TCID₅₀ of BavPat (D614G) strain (n = 6) or the omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant at day 4 post-infection (pi). The lungs of hamsters infected with the ancestral D614G strain (left picture) show significant bronchopneumonia (green arrows), perivascular inflammation with peri-vascular oedema (red arrows) and peri-bronchial inflammation (blue arrows), whereas the lungs of the omicron-infected hamsters (Right picture) appear normal with no peri-bronchial inflammation (blue arrows) or bronchopneumonia. Scale bars, 100 μm. (b) Cumulative severity score from H&E stained slides of lungs from hamsters infected with the D614G strain or the omicron variant at day 4 pi. Individual data and median values are presented and the dotted line represents the median score of untreated non-infected hamsters. Data were analyzed with the Mann−Whitney U test, **P < 0.01. All data are from a single experiment.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

Pathogenesis and virulence of coronavirus disease: Comparative pathology of animal models for COVID-19.
Kirk NM, Liang Y, Ly H. Kirk NM, et al. Virulence. 2024 Dec;15(1):2316438. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2024.2316438. Epub 2024 Feb 16. Virulence. 2024. PMID: 38362881 Free PMC article. Review.
SARS-CoV-2: An Updated Review Highlighting Its Evolution and Treatments.
Zhang X, Yuan H, Yang Z, Hu X, Mahmmod YS, Zhu X, Zhao C, Zhai J, Zhang XX, Luo S, Wang XH, Xue M, Zheng C, Yuan ZG. Zhang X, et al. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Dec 14;10(12):2145. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10122145. Vaccines (Basel). 2022. PMID: 36560555 Free PMC article. Review.
The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 Omicron virus causes attenuated infection and disease in mice and hamsters.
Diamond M, Halfmann P, Maemura T, Iwatsuki-Horimoto K, Iida S, Kiso M, Scheaffer S, Darling T, Joshi A, Loeber S, Foster S, Ying B, Whitener B, Floyd K, Ujie M, Nakajima N, Ito M, Wright R, Uraki R, Li R, Sakai Y, Liu Y, Larson D, Osorio J, Hernandez-Ortiz J, Čiuoderis K, Florek K, Patel M, Bateman A, Odle A, Wong LY, Wang Z, Edara VV, Chong Z, Thackray L, Ueki H, Yamayoshi S, Imai M, Perlman S, Webby R, Seder R, Suthar M, Garcia-Sastre A, Schotsaert M, Suzuki T, Boon A, Kawaoka Y, Douek D, Moliva J, Sullivan N, Gagne M, Ransier A, Case J, Jeevan T, Franks J, Fabrizio T, DeBeauchamp J, Kercher L, Seiler P, Singh G, Warang P, Gonzalez-Reiche AS, Sordillo E, van Bakel H, Simon V. Diamond M, et al. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2021 Dec 29:rs.3.rs-1211792. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1211792/v1. Res Sq. 2021. Update in: Nature. 2022 Mar;603(7902):687-692. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04441-6. PMID: 34981044 Free PMC article. Updated. Preprint.
Immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccine boosters against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.5 in male Syrian hamsters.
Machado RRG, Walker JL, Scharton D, Rafael GH, Mitchell BM, Reyna RA, de Souza WM, Liu J, Walker DH, Plante JA, Plante KS, Weaver SC. Machado RRG, et al. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 17;14(1):4260. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40033-2. Nat Commun. 2023. PMID: 37460536 Free PMC article.
Resilience of S309 and AZD7442 monoclonal antibody treatments against infection by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineage strains.
Case JB, Mackin S, Errico JM, Chong Z, Madden EA, Whitener B, Guarino B, Schmid MA, Rosenthal K, Ren K, Dang HV, Snell G, Jung A, Droit L, Handley SA, Halfmann PJ, Kawaoka Y, Crowe JE Jr, Fremont DH, Virgin HW, Loo YM, Esser MT, Purcell LA, Corti D, Diamond MS. Case JB, et al. Nat Commun. 2022 Jul 2;13(1):3824. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31615-7. Nat Commun. 2022. PMID: 35780162 Free PMC article.

See all "Cited by" articles

References

1. Abdelnabi R., Boudewijns R., Foo C.S., Seldeslachts L., Sanchez-Felipe L., Zhang X., Delang L., Maes P., Kaptein S.J.F., Weynand B., Vande Velde G., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. Comparing infectivity and virulence of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in Syrian hamsters. EBioMedicine. 2021;68:103403. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103403. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Abdelnabi R., Foo C.S., Jochmans D., Vangeel L., De Jonghe S., Augustijns P., Mols R., Weynand B., Wattanakul T., Hoglund R.M., Tarning J., Mowbray C.E., Sjö P., Escudié F., Scandale I., Chatelain E., Neyts J. The oral protease inhibitor (PF-07321332) protects Syrian hamsters against infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.11.04.467077. 11.04.467077. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Bentley E.G., Kirby A., Sharma P., Kipar A., Mega D.F., Bramwell C., Penrice-Randal R., Prince T., Brown J.C., Zhou J., Screaton G.R., Barclay W.S., Owen A., Hiscox J.A., Stewart J.P. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-B.1.1.529 Variant leads to less severe disease than Pango B and Delta variants strains in a mouse model of severe COVID-19. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.12.26.474085. 12.26.474085. - DOI
1. Boudewijns R., Thibaut H.J., Kaptein S.J.F., Li R., Vergote V., Seldeslachts L., Van Weyenbergh J., De Keyzer C., Bervoets L., Sharma S., Liesenborghs L., Ma J., Jansen S., Van Looveren D., Vercruysse T., Wang X., Jochmans D., Martens E., Roose K., De Vlieger D., Schepens B., Van Buyten T., Jacobs S., Liu Y., Martí-Carreras J., Vanmechelen B., Wawina-Bokalanga T., Delang L., Rocha-Pereira J., Coelmont L., Chiu W., Leyssen P., Heylen E., Schols D., Wang L., Close L., Matthijnssens J., Van Ranst M., Compernolle V., Schramm G., Van Laere K., Saelens X., Callewaert N., Opdenakker G., Maes P., Weynand B., Cawthorne C., Vande Velde G., Wang Z., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. STAT2 signaling restricts viral dissemination but drives severe pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters. Nat. Commun. 2020;11 doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19684-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Chi-wai M., et al. Press release; 2021. HKUMed Finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Can Infect Faster and Better than Delta in Human Bronchus but with Less Severe Infection in Lung.

Publication types

Actions

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts

Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

[1] Abdelnabi R., Boudewijns R., Foo C.S., Seldeslachts L., Sanchez-Felipe L., Zhang X., Delang L., Maes P., Kaptein S.J.F., Weynand B., Vande Velde G., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. Comparing infectivity and virulence of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in Syrian hamsters. EBioMedicine. 2021;68:103403. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103403. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Abdelnabi R., Boudewijns R., Foo C.S., Seldeslachts L., Sanchez-Felipe L., Zhang X., Delang L., Maes P., Kaptein S.J.F., Weynand B., Vande Velde G., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. Comparing infectivity and virulence of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in Syrian hamsters. EBioMedicine. 2021;68:103403. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103403. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Abdelnabi R., Foo C.S., Jochmans D., Vangeel L., De Jonghe S., Augustijns P., Mols R., Weynand B., Wattanakul T., Hoglund R.M., Tarning J., Mowbray C.E., Sjö P., Escudié F., Scandale I., Chatelain E., Neyts J. The oral protease inhibitor (PF-07321332) protects Syrian hamsters against infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.11.04.467077. 11.04.467077. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Abdelnabi R., Foo C.S., Jochmans D., Vangeel L., De Jonghe S., Augustijns P., Mols R., Weynand B., Wattanakul T., Hoglund R.M., Tarning J., Mowbray C.E., Sjö P., Escudié F., Scandale I., Chatelain E., Neyts J. The oral protease inhibitor (PF-07321332) protects Syrian hamsters against infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.11.04.467077. 11.04.467077. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Bentley E.G., Kirby A., Sharma P., Kipar A., Mega D.F., Bramwell C., Penrice-Randal R., Prince T., Brown J.C., Zhou J., Screaton G.R., Barclay W.S., Owen A., Hiscox J.A., Stewart J.P. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-B.1.1.529 Variant leads to less severe disease than Pango B and Delta variants strains in a mouse model of severe COVID-19. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.12.26.474085. 12.26.474085. - DOI

[6] Bentley E.G., Kirby A., Sharma P., Kipar A., Mega D.F., Bramwell C., Penrice-Randal R., Prince T., Brown J.C., Zhou J., Screaton G.R., Barclay W.S., Owen A., Hiscox J.A., Stewart J.P. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-B.1.1.529 Variant leads to less severe disease than Pango B and Delta variants strains in a mouse model of severe COVID-19. bioRxiv. 2021;2021 doi: 10.1101/2021.12.26.474085. 12.26.474085. - DOI

[7] Boudewijns R., Thibaut H.J., Kaptein S.J.F., Li R., Vergote V., Seldeslachts L., Van Weyenbergh J., De Keyzer C., Bervoets L., Sharma S., Liesenborghs L., Ma J., Jansen S., Van Looveren D., Vercruysse T., Wang X., Jochmans D., Martens E., Roose K., De Vlieger D., Schepens B., Van Buyten T., Jacobs S., Liu Y., Martí-Carreras J., Vanmechelen B., Wawina-Bokalanga T., Delang L., Rocha-Pereira J., Coelmont L., Chiu W., Leyssen P., Heylen E., Schols D., Wang L., Close L., Matthijnssens J., Van Ranst M., Compernolle V., Schramm G., Van Laere K., Saelens X., Callewaert N., Opdenakker G., Maes P., Weynand B., Cawthorne C., Vande Velde G., Wang Z., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. STAT2 signaling restricts viral dissemination but drives severe pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters. Nat. Commun. 2020;11 doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19684-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Boudewijns R., Thibaut H.J., Kaptein S.J.F., Li R., Vergote V., Seldeslachts L., Van Weyenbergh J., De Keyzer C., Bervoets L., Sharma S., Liesenborghs L., Ma J., Jansen S., Van Looveren D., Vercruysse T., Wang X., Jochmans D., Martens E., Roose K., De Vlieger D., Schepens B., Van Buyten T., Jacobs S., Liu Y., Martí-Carreras J., Vanmechelen B., Wawina-Bokalanga T., Delang L., Rocha-Pereira J., Coelmont L., Chiu W., Leyssen P., Heylen E., Schols D., Wang L., Close L., Matthijnssens J., Van Ranst M., Compernolle V., Schramm G., Van Laere K., Saelens X., Callewaert N., Opdenakker G., Maes P., Weynand B., Cawthorne C., Vande Velde G., Wang Z., Neyts J., Dallmeier K. STAT2 signaling restricts viral dissemination but drives severe pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters. Nat. Commun. 2020;11 doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19684-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Chi-wai M., et al. Press release; 2021. HKUMed Finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Can Infect Faster and Better than Delta in Human Bronchus but with Less Severe Infection in Lung.

[10] Chi-wai M., et al. Press release; 2021. HKUMed Finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Can Infect Faster and Better than Delta in Human Bronchus but with Less Severe Infection in Lung.

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

Affiliations

The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous