Microbiology Spectrum (Feb 2022)

Dynamic Changes of the Blood Chemistry in Syrian Hamsters Post-Acute COVID-19

  • Chi-Ju Hsu,
  • Wen-Chin Lin,
  • Yu-Ching Chou,
  • Chuen-Mi Yang,
  • Hsueh-Ling Wu,
  • Yun-Hsiang Cheng,
  • Ping-Cheng Liu,
  • Jia-Yu Chang,
  • Hsing-Yu Chen,
  • Jun-Ren Sun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02362-21
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1

Abstract

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ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 are not fully understood. We aimed to determine the long-term lung pathology and blood chemistry changes in Syrian hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2. Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were inoculated with 105 PFU of SARS-CoV-2, and changes post-infection (pi) were observed for 20 days. On days 5 and 20 pi, the lungs were harvested and processed for pathology and viral load count. Multiple blood samples were collected every 3 to 5 days to observe dynamic changes in blood chemistry. Infected hamsters showed consistent weight loss until day 7 pi At day 5 pi, histopathology of the lungs showed moderate to severe inflammation and the virus could be detected. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 has an acute onset and recovery course in the hamster infection model. During the acute onset, blood triglyceride levels increased significantly at day 3 pi During the recovery course, uric acid and low-density lipoprotein levels increased significantly, but the total protein and albumin levels decreased. Together, our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters not only causes lung damage but also causes long-term changes in blood biochemistry during the recovery process. IMPORTANCE COVID-19 is now considered a multiorgan disease with a wide range of manifestations. There are increasing reports of persistent and long-term effects after acute COVID-19, but the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 are not fully understood. This study reported for the first time the use of blood samples collected continuously in a SARS-CoV-2-infected hamster model, which provides more information about the dynamic changes in blood biochemistry during the acute and recovery phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters not only causes lung damage but also causes long-term changes in blood biochemistry during the recovery process. The study may be used by several researchers and clinicians, especially those who are studying potential treatments for patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

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