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Updated: Aug 27, 2026
Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2
Published on: November 5, 2021
Comparative systemic pathogenicity and host tropism of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, Delta, and Omicron EG.5 variants in
Xiaofang Peng1, Qi Zhang2, PingPing Zhou1,3
1Guangdong Workstation for Emerging Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogen Detection for Emerging Infectious Disease Response, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China.
Introduction:
SARS-CoV-2 undergoes persistent genomic evolution, yet prevalent circulating variants tend to evolve toward reduced pathogenicity. However, direct comparative pathogenesis data involving contemporary, immune-evasive strains-such as the Omicron EG.5 subvariant (a descendant of the globally dominant XBB lineage)-relative to ancestral strains remain scarce.
Methods:
To clarify the evolutionary trajectory of viral virulence, we conducted a systematic, head-to-head comparison of the in vivo pathogenicity of three pivotal strains: the ancestral Wild-type (Wuhan lineage), Delta, and the currently circulating Omicron EG.5. We utilized the highly susceptible K18-hACE2 transgenic mouse model to assess disease progression, viral burden, and histopathology.
Results:
Despite uniformly progressing to lethality in this model, the strains exhibited a distinct gradient in the kinetics and severity of disease. The Wild-type strain demonstrated the most rapid disease progression, highest viral loads across multiple organs (notably liver, brain, lung, and intestine), and most severe histopathological damage. The Delta variant showed an intermediate phenotype. Strikingly, the Omicron EG.5 variant displayed significantly attenuated pathogenicity, characterized by markedly delayed mortality, milder clinical presentation, and reduced tissue viral burden, yet it retained a capacity for multi-organ infection.
Discussion:
Our study provides direct experimental evidence for a pronounced attenuation in pathogenicity along the evolutionary trajectory from Wild-type through Delta to Omicron EG.5. These findings offer crucial insights for risk assessment of emerging variants and underscore the need for ongoing surveillance.
