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SARS CoV-2 variant B.1.617.1 is highly pathogenic in hamsters than B.1 variant

Pragya D. Yadav, Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Anita M Shete, Dimpal A Nyayanit, Nivedita Gupta, Deepak Y. Patil, Gajanan N. Sapkal, Varsha Potdar, Manoj Kadam, Abhimanyu Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Deepak Suryavanshi, Chandrashekhar S. Mote, Priya Abraham, Samiran Panda, Balram Bhargava
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.05.442760
Pragya D. Yadav
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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  • For correspondence: hellopragya22@gmail.com
Sreelekshmy Mohandas
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Anita M Shete
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Dimpal A Nyayanit
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Nivedita Gupta
2Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Bhawan, P.O. Box No. 4911, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India Pin-110029
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Deepak Y. Patil
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Gajanan N. Sapkal
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Varsha Potdar
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Manoj Kadam
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Abhimanyu Kumar
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Sanjay Kumar
3Dept of Neurosurgery, Command Hospital (Southern Command), Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, India Pin- 411040
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Deepak Suryavanshi
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Chandrashekhar S. Mote
4Department of Veterinary Pathology, Krantisinh Nana Patil College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, Maharashtra, India Pin-412801
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Priya Abraham
1Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology, Pune, Maharashtra, India, Pin-411021
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Samiran Panda
2Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Bhawan, P.O. Box No. 4911, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India Pin-110029
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Balram Bhargava
2Indian Council of Medical Research, V. Ramalingaswami Bhawan, P.O. Box No. 4911, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India Pin-110029
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ABSTRACT

Background The recent emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.617 in India has been associated with a surge in the number of daily infections. This variant has combination of specific mutations L452R, E484Q and P681R reported to possibly enhance the transmissibility with likelihood of escaping the immunity. We investigated the viral load and pathogenic potential of B.1.617.1 in Syrian golden hamsters.

Methods Two groups of Syrian golden hamsters (9 each) were inoculated intranasally with SARS CoV-2 isolates, B.1 (D614G) and B.1.617.1 respectively. The animals were monitored daily for the clinical signs and body weight. The necropsy of three hamsters each was performed on 3, 5- and 7-days post-infection (DPI). Throat swab (TS), nasal wash (NW) and organ samples (lungs, nasal turbinate, trachea) were collected and screened using SARS-CoV-2 specific Real-time RT-PCR.

Results The hamsters infected with B.1.617.1 demonstrated increased body weight loss compared to B.1 variant. The highest viral load was observed in nasal turbinate and lung specimens of animals infected with B.1.167.1 on 3 DPI. Neutralizing antibody (NAb) and IgG response in hamsters of both the groups were observed from 5 and 7 DPI respectively. However, higher neutralizing antibody titers were observed against B.1.167.1. Gross pathology showed pronounced lung lesions and hemorrhage with B.1.671 compared to B.1.

Conclusions B.1617.1 and B.1 variant varied greatly in their infectiousness, pathogenesis in hamster model. This study demonstrates higher pathogenicity in hamsters evident with reduced body weight, higher viral load in lungs and pronounced lung lesions as compared to B.1 variant.

Summary B.1.617.1 is the new SARS-CoV-2 lineage that emerged in India. Maximal body weight loss and higher viral load in hamsters infected with B.1.617.1. It caused pronounced lung lesions in hamsters compared to B.1 variant which demonstrates the pathogenic potential of B.1.617.1.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 05, 2021.
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SARS CoV-2 variant B.1.617.1 is highly pathogenic in hamsters than B.1 variant
Pragya D. Yadav, Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Anita M Shete, Dimpal A Nyayanit, Nivedita Gupta, Deepak Y. Patil, Gajanan N. Sapkal, Varsha Potdar, Manoj Kadam, Abhimanyu Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Deepak Suryavanshi, Chandrashekhar S. Mote, Priya Abraham, Samiran Panda, Balram Bhargava
bioRxiv 2021.05.05.442760; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.05.442760
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SARS CoV-2 variant B.1.617.1 is highly pathogenic in hamsters than B.1 variant
Pragya D. Yadav, Sreelekshmy Mohandas, Anita M Shete, Dimpal A Nyayanit, Nivedita Gupta, Deepak Y. Patil, Gajanan N. Sapkal, Varsha Potdar, Manoj Kadam, Abhimanyu Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Deepak Suryavanshi, Chandrashekhar S. Mote, Priya Abraham, Samiran Panda, Balram Bhargava
bioRxiv 2021.05.05.442760; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.05.442760

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