Delayed viral clearance and altered inflammatory responses affect severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in aged mice.

Émile Lacasse, Isabelle Dubuc, Leslie Gudimard, Ana Claudia Dos S P Andrade, Annie Gravel, Karine Greffard, Alexandre Chamberland, Camille Oger, Jean-Marie Galano, Thierry Durand, Éric Philipe, Marie-Renée Blanchet, Jean-François Bilodeau, Louis Flamand

Axe Maladies Infectieuses et Immunitaires, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier, Universitaire de Québec- Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.Axe Maladies Infectieuses et Immunitaires, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier, Universitaire de Québec- Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Epidemiological investigations consistently demonstrate an overrepresentation of the elderly in COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities, making the advanced age as a major predictor of disease severity. Despite this, a comprehensive understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms explaining how old age represents a major risk factor remain elusive. To investigate this, we compared SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes in young adults (2 months) and geriatric (15-22 months) mice. Both groups of K18-ACE2 mice were intranasally infected with 500 TCID

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Research summary

The paper claims that delayed viral clearance and altered inflammatory responses contribute to the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in aged mice. This research is relevant as it explores the mechanisms by which aging affects disease outcomes, potentially informing strategies to mitigate age-related vulnerabilities in infectious diseases.

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