Volume 30, No 8, Aug 2020

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 30 Issue 8, August 2020: 670-677   |  Open Access

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Infection with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causes pneumonia in Rhesus macaques

Chao Shan^1,2,†,* , Yan-Feng Yao^1,† , Xing-Lou Yang^1,† , Yi-Wu Zhou^3,† , Ge Gao¹ , Yun Peng¹ , Lian Yang⁴ , Xue Hu^1,2 , Jin Xiong¹ , Ren-Di Jiang^1,5 , Hua-Jun Zhang¹ , Xiao-Xiao Gao¹ , Cheng Peng¹ , Juan Min¹ , Ying Chen^1,5 , Hao-Rui Si¹ , Jia Wu¹ , Peng Zhou¹ , Yan-Yi Wang¹ , Hong-Ping Wei¹ , Wei Pang⁶ , Zheng-Fei Hu⁷ , Long-Bao Lv⁷ , Yong-Tang Zheng⁶ , Zheng-Li Shi^1,* , Zhi-Ming Yuan^1,*

¹Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
²State Key Laboratory of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
³Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
⁴Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, China
⁵University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
⁶Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
⁷Kunming Primate Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
^†These authors contributed equally
Correspondence: Chao Shan(shanchao@wh.iov.cn)Zheng-Li Shi(zlshi@wh.iov.cn)Zhi-Ming Yuan(yzm@wh.iov.cn)

The 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak is a major challenge for public health. SARS-CoV-2 infection in human has a broad clinical spectrum ranging from mild to severe cases, with a mortality rate of ~6.4% worldwide (based on World Health Organization daily situation report). However, the dynamics of viral infection, replication and shedding are poorly understood. Here, we show that Rhesus macaques are susceptible to the infection by SARS-CoV-2. After intratracheal inoculation, the first peak of viral RNA was observed in oropharyngeal swabs one day post infection (1 d.p.i.), mainly from the input of the inoculation, while the second peak occurred at 5 d.p.i., which reflected on-site replication in the respiratory tract. Histopathological observation shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause interstitial pneumonia in animals, characterized by hyperemia and edema, and infiltration of monocytes and lymphocytes in alveoli. We also identified SARS-CoV-2 RNA in respiratory tract tissues, including trachea, bronchus and lung; and viruses were also re-isolated from oropharyngeal swabs, bronchus and lung, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated that neutralizing antibodies generated from the primary infection could protect the Rhesus macaques from a second-round challenge by SARS-CoV-2. The non-human primate model that we established here provides a valuable platform to study SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and to evaluate candidate vaccines and therapeutics.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0364-z

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