Adapting Real-Time Lung Function Measurements for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Studies in Syrian Hamsters

Area of Science:

• * Preclinical research and respiratory disease modeling.
• * Infectious disease and virology.
• * Pulmonary function testing and respiratory physiology.

Background:

• * Pulmonary function tests are crucial for assessing respiratory disease severity in patients.
• * Preclinical viral respiratory infection models often lack direct lung function measurements.
• * Whole-body plethysmography (WBP) is underutilized in Syrian hamster models for SARS-CoV-2 research.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To adapt and validate unrestrained whole-body plethysmography (WBP) for SARS-CoV-2 Syrian hamster models.
• * To bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical respiratory disease readouts.
• * To assess the impact of animal movement on WBP measurements in hamsters.

Main Methods:

• * Utilized unrestrained whole-body plethysmography (WBP) in a SARS-CoV-2 Syrian hamster challenge model.
• * Investigated the effect of mechanical and chemical restraint on WBP measurements.
• * Compared breathing frequencies obtained with WBP against clinical signs for different SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Main Results:

• * Unrestrained WBP yielded highly variable breathing frequencies due to animal movement artifacts.
• * Restraint methods improved WBP reliability, yielding breathing frequencies that correlated with clinical signs.
• * Restraint introduced new experimental variations, necessitating further optimization of WBP in hamsters.

Conclusions:

• * Whole-body plethysmography (WBP) is a valuable tool for assessing lung function in SARS-CoV-2 hamster models.
• * Minimizing animal movement through restraint is key to reliable WBP data.
• * WBP combined with video analysis or long-duration measurements can refine preclinical respiratory infection studies.