Syrian Golden Hamsters — a Model for Assessing the Efficacy of Antiviral Drugs Against Experimental COVID-9

Introduction. The viral disease COVID-19 has caused a global emergency and attracted the attention of health professionals and the public worldwide. The significant increase in the number of new cases of infection with this virus demonstrates the relevance of finding medications effective against this pathogen. A laboratory model is needed to assess the activity of antiviral drugs. The aim of this study was to develop an experimental model that adequately reproduces the leading syndrome of the human disease COVID-19. Material and methods. Research methods: experimental and analytical. The experiments were conducted using a permanent culture of African green monkey kidney cells — Vero Cl008, as well as Syrian golden hamsters orally infected with various variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Results. A model of the experimental form of COVID-19 in Syrian golden hamsters with oral infection was developed based on a set of parameters (clinical, virological, hematological, and biochemical). It was shown that as a result of oral infection at a dose of 500 ID50 animals developed lung damage, a decrease in the number of leukocytes in the blood, an increase in the proportion of young and band forms of neutrophils with a simultaneous decrease in the proportion of segmented neutrophils, lymphocytes, an increase in the activity of aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST and ALT), an increase in the concentration of urea, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in the blood serum. The following indicators were used to calculate the disease severity index and the therapeutic effect factor: virus accumulation in the lungs, the degree of lung damage (pathological changes), the levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine kinase, urea, creatinine, the relative number of myelocytes, young, band, segmented neutrophils, and lymphocytes. Conclusion. The proposed model of the experimental form of COVID-19 in Syrian golden hamsters adequately reproduces the leading syndrome of the disease (viral pneumonia) and allows for a more objective assessment of the effectiveness of antiviral drugs with the calculation of the disease severity index and the therapeutic effect coefficient.