Pillar 3
Virology
Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is the clinical manifestation of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. A hallmark of COVID-19 is a lung inflammation characterized by the presence and abundance of white blood cells, elevated levels of inflammatory mediators and evidence of coagulation problems. Animal models are useful for understanding the events leading to severe COVID-19. Using mice as a model, we conducted a series of analyses to better understand the clinical manifestations associated with infection. Our results indicate that mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 have an inflammatory response characterized by the presence in lungs of abundant levels of several chemokines that attract white blood cells at the site of infection. These results mirror those observed in humans afflicted with severe COVID-19. However, contrary to what is observed in humans, lungs of SARS-CoV-2 infected mice contained little amounts of a class of inflammatory mediators known as bioactive lipids. The reasons explaining this difference are unclear at the moment. Our results also show that at early times of infection, blood clot formation is already present. Disease and therapeutic strategies to be employed to treat severe COVID-19 are discussed.