Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in primary human nasal cultures demonstrates Delta as most cytopathic and Omicron as fastest replicating.
Nikhila S TannetiAnant K PatelLi Hui TanAndrew D MarquesRanawaka A P M PereraScott Sherrill-MixBrendan J KellyDavid M RennerRonald G CollmanKyle RodinoCarole LeeFrederic D BushmanNoam A CohenSusan R WeissPublished in: mBio (2024)
Comparative analysis of infections by SARS-CoV-2 ancestral virus and variants of concern, including Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, indicated that variants were selected for efficiency in replication. In infections of patient-derived primary nasal cultures grown at air-liquid interface to model upper respiratory infection, Omicron reached the highest titers at early time points, a finding that was confirmed by parallel population sampling studies. While all infections overcame dsRNA-mediated host responses, infections with Omicron induced the strongest interferon and interferon-stimulated gene response. In both primary nasal cultures and lower respiratory cell line, infections by Delta were most damaging to the cells as indicated by syncytia formation, loss of cell barrier integrity, and nasal ciliary function.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- copy number
- chronic rhinosinusitis
- endothelial cells
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- induced apoptosis
- stem cells
- gene expression
- single cell
- cell proliferation
- immune response
- high glucose
- oxidative stress
- cell therapy
- cell cycle arrest
- bone marrow
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- diabetic rats
- coronavirus disease