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Review
. 2021 Aug 10;9(8):886.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9080886.

COVID-19 Research: Lessons from Non-Human Primate Models

Laure Albrecht  1   2   3 , Elodie Bishop  1   2   3 , Basile Jay  1   3   4 , Blaise Lafoux  1   4 , Marie Minoves  1   2 , Caroline Passaes  5
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 Research: Lessons from Non-Human Primate Models

Laure Albrecht et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It emerged from China in December 2019 and rapidly spread across the globe, causing a pandemic with unprecedented impacts on public health and economy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of curative treatments and vaccines. In humans, COVID-19 pathogenesis shows a wide range of symptoms, from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia. Identifying animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection that reflect the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 is of critical importance. Nonhuman primates (NHPss) correspond to relevant models to assess vaccine and antiviral effectiveness. This review discusses the use of NHPs as models for COVID-19 research, with focus on the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, drug discovery and pre-clinical evaluation of vaccine candidates.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; drug discovery; non-human primates; pathogenesis; vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the clinical, virologic and immunologic features observed over the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHPs. (A) Clinical correlates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHPs. (B) SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics and histopathological changes in the lungs of NHPs. (C) Cytokine production in the lungs of SARS-CoV-2 infected NHPs. (D) Dynamics of innate immune cells in the blood (solid lines) and in the lungs (dashed line). (E) Dynamics of virus-specific antibodies. (F) Dynamics of virus-specific T cells in the blood (solid line) and in the lungs (dashed line). Similar dynamics are observed in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Figure was generated using Inkscape.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the clinical, virologic and immunologic features observed over the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHPs. (A) Clinical correlates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHPs. (B) SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics and histopathological changes in the lungs of NHPs. (C) Cytokine production in the lungs of SARS-CoV-2 infected NHPs. (D) Dynamics of innate immune cells in the blood (solid lines) and in the lungs (dashed line). (E) Dynamics of virus-specific antibodies. (F) Dynamics of virus-specific T cells in the blood (solid line) and in the lungs (dashed line). Similar dynamics are observed in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Figure was generated using Inkscape.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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