Golden Syrian Hamsters as a Model for Revisiting the Role of Biological Sex Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Golden Syrian Hamsters as a Model for Revisiting the Role of Biological Sex Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Blog Article

ABSTRACT There is growing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects males more severely than females, including compelling evidence indicating that biological sex is an important clinical factor influencing disease pathology and outcomes.In their recent article in mBio, S.Dhakal, C.A.Ruiz-Bedoya, R.

Zhou, P.S.Creisher, et al.(mBio 12:e00974-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.

1128/mBio.00974-21) INCENSE COSTEN find further evidence to support this hypothesis as they interrogate biological sex differences in the pathogenesis and clinical features of COVID-19 in the golden Syrian hamster model.Their study probes SARS-CoV-2 infection in terms of loss of body mass, recovery, lung compromise, viral replication, inflammatory response, immune response, and, most importantly, the role of estrogen.They also demonstrate the value of a novel unbiased, quantitative chest computed tomography (CT) Fruit Snacks imaging approach.The golden Syrian hamster model holds a promising opportunity to further investigate how biological sex acts as a primary determinant in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, as also demonstrated in this study.