Non-Productive Infection of Glial Cells with SARS-CoV-2 in Hamster Organotypic Cerebellar Slice Cultures
Lise Lamoureux,
Babu Sajesh,
Jessy A. Slota,
Sarah J. Medina,
Matthew Mayor,
Kathy L. Frost,
Bryce Warner,
Kathy Manguiat,
Heidi Wood,
Darwyn Kobasa,
Stephanie A. Booth
Affiliations
Lise Lamoureux
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Babu Sajesh
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Jessy A. Slota
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Sarah J. Medina
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Matthew Mayor
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Kathy L. Frost
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Bryce Warner
Special Pathogens, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Kathy Manguiat
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Heidi Wood
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
Darwyn Kobasa
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 730 William Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3, Canada
Stephanie A. Booth
One Health Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, 1015 Arlington St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R2, Canada
The numerous neurological syndromes associated with COVID-19 implicate an effect of viral pathogenesis on neuronal function, yet reports of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain are conflicting. We used a well-established organotypic brain slice culture to determine the permissivity of hamster brain tissues to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found levels of live virus waned after inoculation and observed no evidence of cell-to-cell spread, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 infection was non-productive. Nonetheless, we identified a small number of infected cells with glial phenotypes; however, no evidence of viral infection or replication was observed in neurons. Our data corroborate several clinical studies that have assessed patients with COVID-19 and their association with neurological involvement.
