tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
mBio
. 2021 Nov 23;e0184821.
doi: 10.1128/mBio.01848-21. Online ahead of print.
Golden Syrian Hamsters as a Model for Revisiting the Role of Biological Sex Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Rafael Tomoya Michita[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Indira U Mysorekar[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
There is growing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects males more severely than females, including compelling evidence indicating that biological sex is an important clinical factor influencing disease pathology and outcomes. In their recent article in mBio, S. Dhakal, C. A. Ruiz-Bedoya, R. Zhou, P. S. Creisher, et al. (mBio 12:e00974-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00974-21) find further evidence to support this hypothesis as they interrogate biological sex differences in the pathogenesis and clinical features of COVID-19 in the golden Syrian hamster model. Their study probes SARS-CoV-2 infection in terms of loss of body mass, recovery, lung compromise, viral replication, inflammatory response, immune response, and, most importantly, the role of estrogen. They also demonstrate the value of a novel unbiased, quantitative chest computed tomography (CT) imaging approach. The golden Syrian hamster model holds a promising opportunity to further investigate how biological sex acts as a primary determinant in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, as also demonstrated in this study.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Syrian hamster; lung infection; sex difference; viral infections.
. 2021 Nov 23;e0184821.
doi: 10.1128/mBio.01848-21. Online ahead of print.
Golden Syrian Hamsters as a Model for Revisiting the Role of Biological Sex Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Rafael Tomoya Michita[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Indira U Mysorekar[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34809458
- DOI: 10.1128/mBio.01848-21
Abstract
There is growing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects males more severely than females, including compelling evidence indicating that biological sex is an important clinical factor influencing disease pathology and outcomes. In their recent article in mBio, S. Dhakal, C. A. Ruiz-Bedoya, R. Zhou, P. S. Creisher, et al. (mBio 12:e00974-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00974-21) find further evidence to support this hypothesis as they interrogate biological sex differences in the pathogenesis and clinical features of COVID-19 in the golden Syrian hamster model. Their study probes SARS-CoV-2 infection in terms of loss of body mass, recovery, lung compromise, viral replication, inflammatory response, immune response, and, most importantly, the role of estrogen. They also demonstrate the value of a novel unbiased, quantitative chest computed tomography (CT) imaging approach. The golden Syrian hamster model holds a promising opportunity to further investigate how biological sex acts as a primary determinant in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, as also demonstrated in this study.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Syrian hamster; lung infection; sex difference; viral infections.