SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus exhibits similar infection characteristics to SARS-CoV-2 and direct contact transmissibility in hamsters

Zhendong Guo; Cheng Zhang; Chunmao Zhang; Huan Cui; Zhaoliang Chen; Xinyun Jiang; Tiecheng Wang; Yuanguo Li; Jun Liu; Zhonghai Wan; Keyin Meng; Jiping Li; Yigang Tong; Yuwei Gao

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104350

SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus exhibits similar infection characteristics to SARS-CoV-2 and direct contact transmissibility in hamsters

iScience. 2022 Jun 17;25(6):104350. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104350. Epub 2022 May 4.

Authors

Zhendong Guo¹, Cheng Zhang^{1

2}, Chunmao Zhang¹, Huan Cui³, Zhaoliang Chen², Xinyun Jiang¹, Tiecheng Wang¹, Yuanguo Li¹, Jun Liu¹, Zhonghai Wan¹, Keyin Meng¹, Jiping Li¹, Yigang Tong⁴, Yuwei Gao¹

Affiliations

¹ Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 573 Tulip Street, Changchun, Jilin 130122, China.
² College of Veterinary Medicine, Hebei Agricultural University, 2596 Lucky South Street, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China.
³ College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Avenue, Changchun, Jilin 130062, China.
⁴ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.

Abstract

To date, intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 remain obscure and controversial. Several studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus (Pangolin-CoV) has a high sequence similarity to SARS-CoV-2 and might be the initial source of SARS-CoV-2; however, the biological characteristics of Pangolin-CoV are still largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the pathogenicity and transmissibility of Pangolin-CoV in Syrian golden hamsters Mesocricetus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) and compared it with SARS-CoV-2. Pangolin-CoV could effectively infect hamsters, showed similar tissue tropism to SARS-CoV-2 and replicated efficiently in the respiratory system and brain. The infected hamsters had no weight loss but had obvious viral shedding and lung pathological injury. Notably, Pangolin-CoV could transmit between hamsters by direct contact but not via aerosols, and the infected hamsters could exhale infectious viral aerosols (>1 μm). These results highlight the importance of continuous monitoring of coronaviruses in pangolins owing to the potential threat of Pangolin-CoV to human health.

Keywords: Cell biology; Virology.