SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Pathogenesis and Host Response in Syrian Hamsters.

Sreelekshmy Mohandas,Gajanan Sapkal,Nivedita Gupta,Dimpal Nyayanit,Pragya Dhruv Yadav,Anita Shete,Kavita Lole

doi:10.3390/v13091773

Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Gajanan Sapkal + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/v13091773

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B.1.617 is becoming a dominant Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage worldwide with many sublineages, of which B.1.617.2 is designated as a variant of concern. The pathogenicity of B.1.617.2 (Delta) and B.1.617.3 lineage of SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated and compared with that of B.1, an early virus isolate with D614G mutation in a Syrian hamster model. Viral load, antibody response, and lung disease were studied. There was no significant difference in the virus shedding pattern among these variants. High levels of SARS-CoV-2 sub genomic RNA were detected in the respiratory tract of hamsters infected with the Delta variant for 14 days, which warrants further transmission studies. The Delta variant induced lung disease of moderate severity in about 40% of infected animals, which supports the attributed disease severity of the variant. Cross neutralizing antibodies were detected in animals infected with B.1, Delta, and B.1.617.3 variant, but neutralizing capacity was significantly lower with B.1.351 (Beta variant).

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617 lineage variants were first reported in India in October 2020
The average body weight gain in hamsters was the least in the Delta variant group compared with B.1 and B.1.617.3 during the first week of infection (Figure 1a)
For the Delta variant, the viral genomic RNA (gRNA) could be detected in the nasal wash (NW) and Throat swabs (TS) samples until

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Introduction

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617 lineage variants were first reported in India in October 2020. B.1.617.1 is designated as a variant of interest and B.1.617.2 as a variant of concern (VOC) by the. World Health Organization [1]. B.1.617.3 is another sublineage in which fewer sequences have been reported. The rise in COVID-19 cases worldwide during the second wave was speculated to be due to the high transmission potential of the Delta variant, which replaced the other variants in circulation [2]. As of 10 August 2021, the Delta variant has been reported in 142 countries [1]. The characteristic mutations reported in the spike gene of the

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