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IMAGE: Macaques were exposed to a high titer of SARS-CoV-2 via combined transmission routes. In their lung lesions, acute interstitial pneumonia with endotheliitis (mononuclear leukocytes and PMN infiltrate the interior of the intima … view More
Credit: Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)
Characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, which could be useful for vaccine development and treatment strategies, were identified using a non-human primate model developed at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology ( KRIBB).
The work was initiated in February this year by the research team led by Dr. Jung Joo Hong at the KRIBB National Primate Research Center, and has led to the successful development of a non-human primate model of COVID-19 infection. , the fourth model reported worldwide, later China, the Netherlands and the United States. The study results were part of a larger research project aimed at identifying key features of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, and to test the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments using the primate model.
In the primate study, vascular abnormalities due to infection were investigated, the reasons behind the fatality of COVID-19 infection, particularly in immunocompromised patients, the multiplication sites of SARS-CoV-2 within the human body and the time course.
The research team showed, for the first time, that SARS-CoV-2 caused vascular inflammation and that endotheliitis persisted even 3 days after infection. Additionally, they confirmed immunosuppression, which is typically seen in immunodeficient patients, when viral load increased rapidly during COVID-19 infection (first 2 days after infection).
This study was published on the cover of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a world-class academic journal in the field of infectious diseases. The online edition of the issue was made available on August 3, 2020 and the article will be printed in the November 15 issue.
The research team observed that the virus multiplied rapidly in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of experimental primates in the first 2 days after viral infection. Thereafter, the viral load decreased rapidly and viral activity was not detected 7 days after infection.
These results are expected to provide new insight into the diagnostic challenges associated with a false positive test – a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result for an asymptomatic test.
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The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), founded in 1985, is a unique government research institute specializing in life sciences. KRIBB engages in biotechnology research through a wide range of skills, from basic studies for the fundamental understanding of life phenomena to applied studies, as well as the new growth power of the national bioeconomy.
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