A Biosafety Level 2 Mouse Model for Studying Betacoronavirus-Induced Acute Lung Damage and Systemic Manifestations
Ana Cláudia dos Santos Pereira Andrade, Gabriel Henrique Campolina-Silva, Celso Martins Queiroz‐Junior, Leonardo Camilo de Oliveira, Larisse de Souza Barbosa Lacerda, Jordane Clarisse Pimenta, Filipe Resende, Ian de Meira Chaves, Ingredy Passos, Danielle Cunha Teixeira, Paloma Bittencourt‐Silva, Priscila Aparecida Costa Valadão, Leonardo Rossi-Oliveira, Maísa Mota Antunes, André Felipe Almeida Figueiredo, Natália Teixeira Wnuk, Jairo R. Temerozo, André C. Ferreira, Allysson Cramer, Cleida A. Oliveira, Ricardo Durães‐Carvalho, Clarice Weis Arns, Pedro Pires Goulart Guimarães, Guilherme Mattos Jardim Costa, Gustavo Batista Menezes, Cristina Guatimosim, Glauber S. F. da Silva, Thiago Moreno L. Souza, Breno Rocha Barrioni, Marivalda M. Pereira, Lirlândia P. Sousa, Mauro Martins Teixeira, Vivian Vasconcelos Costa
Abstract
platforms to investigate the pathogenesis of viral infections and effective countermeasures. The natural resistance of mice to the novel betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has launched a race toward the characterization of SARS-CoV-2 infection in other animals (e.g., hamsters, cats, ferrets, bats, and monkeys), as well as adaptation of the mouse model, by modifying either the host or the virus. In the present study, we utilized a natural pathogen of mice, MHV, as a prototype to model betacoronavirus-induced acute lung injure and multiorgan involvement under biosafety level 2 conditions. We showed that C57BL/6J mice intranasally inoculated with MHV-3 develops severe disease, which includes acute lung damage and respiratory distress that precede systemic inflammation and death. Accordingly, the proposed animal model may provide a useful tool for studies regarding betacoronavirus respiratory infection and related diseases.