Project description:Syrian golden hamsters were treated with TIP or control RNA and infected with SARS-CoV2, at 5 days post infection, RNA was extracted and RNAseq was performed, uninfected hamsters treated with TIP or Control RNA were used as controls.
Project description:We tested if Brd2 inhibitor ABBV-744 could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection in Syrian Hamsters. Three days post-infection, the lungs of hamsters were harvested and subjected to RNA-seq. Infected, but untreated, hamsters showed marked up-regulation of a number of genes including ISGs when compared to uninfected controls. In contrast, hamsters treated with ABBV-744 showed a down-regulation of ISG levels, confirming ABBV-744 activity. Thus, Brd2 inhibition can decrease SARS-CoV-2 infection in Syrian Hamsters.
Project description:Male and female golden hamsters (n = 5 per group) were either control (PBS) treated or infected with SARS-CoV-2 (105 pfu), following treatment with vehicle or the CYP19A1 (aromatase) inhibitor letrozole for 8 consecutive days. At 21 days post infection, animals were sacrificed; subsequently, the lungs were harvested and subjected to Illumina TruSeq stranded mRNA sequencing on NextSeq500 PE 2 × 75 cycles to determine their individual transcriptomic profiles.
Project description:In vitro, ACE2 translocates to the nucleus to induce SARS-CoV-2 replication. Here, using digital spatial profiling of lung tissues from SARS-CoV-2-infected golden Syrian hamsters, we show that a specific and selective peptide inhibitor of nuclear ACE2 (NACE2i) inhibits viral replication two days after SARS-CoV-2 infection. NACE2i also prevents inflammation and macrophage infiltration, and increases NK cell infiltration in bronchioles. NACE2i treatment restores host translation in infected hamster bronchiolar cells.
Project description:Male sex belongs to one of the risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcome. However, underlying mechanisms that could affect sex dependent disease outcome are yet unknown. Here, we identified the CYP19A1 gene encoding for the testosterone-to-estradiol metabolizing enzyme CYP19A1 (alias aromatase) as a host factor that contributes to worsened disease outcome in male hamsters. SARS-CoV-2 infection increases CYP19A1 transcription most prominently in the lungs of male animals, which correlates with reduced circulating testosterone and increased circulating estradiol levels. Dysregulated sex hormone levels in male golden hamsters are associated with reduced lung function compared to females. Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters with letrozole, a clinically approved CYP19A1 inhibitor, supported recovery of dysregulated sex hormone levels and was associated with improved lung function in male but not female animals compared to placebo controls. Whole-lung transcriptome analysis in letrozole treated versus placebo treated control groups revealed key pathways associated with improved lung health in males. To seek translation of these findings into humans, we analyzed autopsy-derived lung samples of COVID-19 cases from three independent study sites. We found that CYP19A1 transcription and protein expression is strongly elevated in the lungs of men who died with COVID-19 as compared to females or non-COVID-19 controls. Our findings highlight the role of the lung as a yet unrecognized but critical organ involved in metabolic responses against respiratory virus infections. Furthermore, inhibition of CYP19A1 by the clinically approved drug letrozole may pose a new therapeutic strategy to reduce poor long-term COVID-19 outcome.
Project description:The RNA modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays a key role in the life cycles of several RNA viruses. Whether this applies to SARS-CoV-2 and whether m6A affects the outcome of COVID-19 disease is still poorly explored. Here we report that the RNA demethylase FTO strongly affects both m6A marking of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 severity. By m6A profiling of SARS-CoV-2, we confirmed in infected cultured cells and showed for the first time in vivo in hamsters that the regions encoding TRS_L and the nucleocapsid protein are multiply marked by m6A, preferentially within RRACH motifs that are specific to β-coronaviruses and well conserved across SARS-CoV-2 variants. In cells, downregulation of the m6A demethylase FTO, occurring upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, increased m6A marking of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and slightly promoted viral replication. In COVID-19 patients, a negative correlation was found between FTO expression and both SARS-CoV-2 expression and disease severity. FTO emerged as a classifier of disease severity and hence a potential stratifier of COVID-19 patients.
Project description:Despite being largely confined to the airways, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with sensory abnormalities that manifest in both acute and long-lasting phenotypes. To gain insight on the molecular basis of these sensory abnormalities, we used the golden hamster infection model to characterize the effects of SARS-CoV-2 versus Influenza A virus (IAV) infection on the sensory nervous system. SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters demonstrated mechanical hypersensitivity during acute infection; intriguingly, this hypersensitivity was milder, but prolonged when compared to IAV-infected hamsters. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of thoracic DRGs from acute infection revealed predominantly neuron-biased signaling perturbations in SARS-CoV-2-infected animals as opposed to type I interferon signaling in tissue derived from IAV-infected animals. RNA-seq of 31dpi thoracic DRGs from SARS-CoV-2-infected animals highlighted a uniquely neuropathic transcriptomic landscape, which was consistent with substantial SARS-CoV-2-specific mechanical hypersensitivity at 28dpi. Overall, this work elucidates novel transcriptomic signatures triggered by SARS-CoV-2 that may underlie both short- and long-term sensory abnormalities while also highlighting several therapeutic targets for alleviation of infection-induced hypersensitivity.