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The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters

View ORCID ProfileRana Abdelnabi, Caroline S. Foo, Xin Zhang, Viktor Lemmens, Piet Maes, Bram Slechten, Joren Raymenants, Emmanuel André, Birgit Weynand, Kai Dallemier, Johan Neyts
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.24.474086
Rana Abdelnabi
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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  • ORCID record for Rana Abdelnabi
Caroline S. Foo
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Xin Zhang
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Viktor Lemmens
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
2Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery
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Piet Maes
3Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
4Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Unit, Leuven, Belgium
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Bram Slechten
5Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Joren Raymenants
6Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Emmanuel André
5Department of Laboratory Medicine, UZ Leuven Hospital, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
6Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Birgit Weynand
7KU Leuven Department of Imaging and Pathology, Translational Cell and Tissue Research, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium; Division of Translational Cell and Tissue Research
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Kai Dallemier
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
2Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery
8Global Virus Network, GVN
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Johan Neyts
1KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
2Molecular Vaccinology and Vaccine Discovery
8Global Virus Network, GVN
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  • For correspondence: johan.neyts@kuleuven.be
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Abstract

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoCs) has exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. End of November 2021, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant namely the omicron (B.1.1.529) emerged. Since this omicron variant is heavily mutated in the spike protein, WHO classified this variant as the 5th variant of concern (VoC). We previously demonstrated that the other SARS-CoV-2 VoCs replicate efficiently in Syrian hamsters, alike also the ancestral strains. We here wanted to explore the infectivity of the omicron variant in comparison to the ancestral D614G strain. Strikingly, in hamsters that had been infected with the omicron variant, a 3 log10 lower viral RNA load was detected in the lungs as compared to animals infected with D614G and no infectious virus was detectable in this organ. Moreover, histopathological examination of the lungs from omicron-infecetd hamsters revealed no signs of peri-bronchial inflammation or bronchopneumonia. Further experiments are needed to determine whether the omicron VoC replicates possibly more efficiently in the upper respiratory tract of hamsters than in their lungs.

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. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted December 26, 2021.
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The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters
Rana Abdelnabi, Caroline S. Foo, Xin Zhang, Viktor Lemmens, Piet Maes, Bram Slechten, Joren Raymenants, Emmanuel André, Birgit Weynand, Kai Dallemier, Johan Neyts
bioRxiv 2021.12.24.474086; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.24.474086
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The omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern does not readily infect Syrian hamsters
Rana Abdelnabi, Caroline S. Foo, Xin Zhang, Viktor Lemmens, Piet Maes, Bram Slechten, Joren Raymenants, Emmanuel André, Birgit Weynand, Kai Dallemier, Johan Neyts
bioRxiv 2021.12.24.474086; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.24.474086

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