Pig Coronavirus Infection Study Can Shed Light on COVID-19 in Humans
Pirbright researchers have developed a pig respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) model which will provide understanding in how coronaviruses cause disease and how the immune system responds to them, The Pirbright Institute says in a release.
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are human coronaviruses that can spread from animals to people. Researchers are seeking to understand coronaviruses better so they can learn how to control and prevent their spread to benefit human and animal health.
Why Pigs?
Pigs are good for modeling human disease because of the similarity in size and how their immune systems work, Pirbright reports. They are also naturally infected with PRCV with varying symptoms and severity, just like people with COVID-19.
"It is hoped that this will also shed light on how coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, infect humans and the measures that can be put in place to reduce the spread and severity of disease," Pirbright says in a release.
The study is designed to understand what factors result in mild or severe disease in pigs. This research, published in Frontiers in Immunology, will help inform the development of new control strategies for emerging livestock and human coronaviruses.
A Look at the Study
At this point, little is known about why the disease severity varies and how the immune system fights these coronaviruses, Pirbright says.
Four strains of PRCV were investigated. Results revealed that those viruses that replicated in the lungs caused more severe disease. Scientists also discovered that all virus strains multiplied in the upper respiratory tract and in the nose, as seen with SARS-CoV-2.
Those strains that caused severe disease were also able to multiply in organ cultures, the release says. The study will help researchers understand how the viruses enter cells, replicate and how some immune cells respond to virus infection.
“This research is an important step to understanding coronaviruses in their natural hosts," says Elma Tchilian, head of the mucosal immunology group at Pirbright, in the release. "By exploring disease in pigs, and the mechanisms of infection we will gain insights into pig health which can also be applied to humans with COVID-19. This will help to improve our knowledge of COVID-19 and the most effective controls that can be put into place to slow the spread of disease.”
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