Animal and translational models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19

M. Johansen (1) , A. Irving (2) , Xavier Montagutelli (3) , M. Tate (4, 5) , I. Rudloff (4, 5) , M. Nold (4, 6) , N. Hansbro (1, 7) , R. Kim (1, 7) , C. Donovan (1, 7) , G. Liu (1, 7) , A. Faiz (1) , K. Short (8) , J. Lyons (9) , G. Mccaughan (9) , M. Gorrell (9) , A. Cole (9) , C. Moreno (10) , D. Couteur (9) , D. Hesselson (10) , J. Triccas (10) , G. Neely (10) , J. Gamble (9) , S. Simpson (10) , B. Saunders (1) , B. Oliver (1) , W. Britton , P. Wark (7) , C. Nold-Petry (5, 4) , P. Hansbro (1, 7)

1 UTS - University of Technology Sydney
2 Zhejiang University School of Medicine [China]
3 Génétique de la souris - Mouse Genetics
4 Hudson Institute of Medical Research [Clayton]
5 Monash University [Clayton]
6 Monash Children’s Hospital [Clayton]
7 UoN - University of Newcastle [Australia]
8 University of Queensland [Brisbane]
9 Centenary Institute [Sidney]
10 The University of Sidney

COVID-19 is causing a major once-in-a-century global pandemic. The scientific and clinical community is in a race to define and develop effective preventions and treatments. The major features of disease are described but clinical trials have been hampered by competing interests, small scale, lack of defined patient cohorts and defined readouts. What is needed now is head-to-head comparison of existing drugs, testing of safety including in the background of predisposing chronic diseases, and the development of new and targeted preventions and treatments. This is most efficiently achieved using representative animal models of primary infection including in the background of chronic disease with validation of findings in primary human cells and tissues. We explore and discuss the diverse animal, cell and tissue models that are being used and developed and collectively recapitulate many critical aspects of disease manifestation in humans to develop and test new preventions and treatments.

Domains: Virology

M. Johansen, A. Irving, Xavier Montagutelli, M. Tate, I. Rudloff, et al.. Animal and translational models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19. Mucosal Immunology, 2020, Online ahead of print. ⟨10.1038/s41385-020-00340-z⟩. ⟨pasteur-02949141⟩