The comparison of pathogenicity among SARS-CoV-2 variants in domestic cats

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been detected or isolated from domestic cats. It is unclear whether cats play an important role in the SARS-CoV-2 transmission cycle. In this study, we examined the susceptibility of cats to SARS-CoV-2, including wild type and variants...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2024-09, Vol.14 (1), p.21815-10, Article 21815
Main Authors: Park, Eun-sil, Kuroda, Yudai, Uda, Akihiko, Kaku, Yoshihiro, Okutani, Akiko, Hotta, Akitoyo, Tatemoto, Kango, Ishijima, Keita, Inoue, Yusuke, Harada, Michiko, Ami, Yasushi, Shirakura, Masayuki, Watanabe, Shinji, Suzuki, Yasushi, Harada, Toshihiko, Ainai, Akira, Shiwa, Nozomi, Sakai, Yusuke, Iwata-Yoshikawa, Naoko, Nagata, Noriyo, Suzuki, Tadaki, Hasegawa, Hideki, Maeda, Ken
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/326/421
631/326/596/4130
692/699/255/2514
Animal research
Animals
Antibodies
Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology
Antibodies, Viral - immunology
Cat Diseases - virology
Cats
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - veterinary
COVID-19 - virology
Domestic animals
Feces - virology
Female
Humanities and Social Sciences
Inoculation
multidisciplinary
Pathogenicity
Pathogens
SARS-CoV-2 - genetics
SARS-CoV-2 - pathogenicity
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
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Summary:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been detected or isolated from domestic cats. It is unclear whether cats play an important role in the SARS-CoV-2 transmission cycle. In this study, we examined the susceptibility of cats to SARS-CoV-2, including wild type and variants, by animal experiments. Cats inoculated with wild type, gamma, and delta variants secreted a large amount of SARS-CoV-2 for 1 week after the inoculation from nasal, oropharyngeal, and rectal routes. Only 100 TCID 50 of virus could infect cats and replicate well without severe clinical symptoms. In addition, one cat inoculated with wild type showed persistent virus secretion in feces for over 28 days post-inoculation (dpi). The titer of virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 increased from 11 dpi, reaching a peak at 14 dpi. However, the omicron variant could not replicate well in cat tissues and induced a lower titer of VN antibodies. It is concluded that cats were highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not to the Omicron Variant, which caused the attenuated pathogenicity.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-71791-8