Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BE.1 Variants in Syrian Hamsters and hACE2-transgenic Mmice

Version 1 : Received: 8 December 2022 / Approved: 12 December 2022 / Online: 12 December 2022 (13:12:15 CET)

How to cite: Dolzhikova, I.; Grousova, D.; Zorkov, I.; Kovyrshina, A.; Iliukhina, A.; Shelkov, A.; Botikov, A.; Kuznetsova, N.; Pochtovyi, A.; Demyashkin, G.; Suslova, A.; Nedorubov, A.; Komissarov, A.; Danilenko, D.; Lioznov, D.; Tukhvatulin, A.; Shcheblyakov, D.; Gushchin, V.; Logunov, D.; Gintsburg, A. Pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BE.1 Variants in Syrian Hamsters and hACE2-transgenic Mmice. Preprints 2022, 2022120202. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202212.0202.v1 Dolzhikova, I.; Grousova, D.; Zorkov, I.; Kovyrshina, A.; Iliukhina, A.; Shelkov, A.; Botikov, A.; Kuznetsova, N.; Pochtovyi, A.; Demyashkin, G.; Suslova, A.; Nedorubov, A.; Komissarov, A.; Danilenko, D.; Lioznov, D.; Tukhvatulin, A.; Shcheblyakov, D.; Gushchin, V.; Logunov, D.; Gintsburg, A. Pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BE.1 Variants in Syrian Hamsters and hACE2-transgenic Mmice. Preprints 2022, 2022120202. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202212.0202.v1

Abstract

A new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 virus has displaced all previous variants of the virus around the world. Preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of drugs for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 requires the availability of infection models in animals. In this study, we characterize the infection model SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and its progeny sublineage BE.1 in hACE2-transgenic mice and in Syrian hamsters. Both sublineages turned out to be pathogenic for animals – the challenged animals showed weight loss, a high level of viral load and acute inflammation in the lungs. Part of BA.5-infected mice died after virus challenge, indicating that this virus variant is more pathogenic than the previous BA.1 variant but less pathogenic than Wuhan variant.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2; Omicron BA.5; Omicron BE.1; animal model

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

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