GSE184949
Similarities and differences in the acute-phase response to SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques and African green monkeys
Understanding SARS-CoV-2 immune pathology is critical for the development of effective vaccines and treatments.  Here, we employed unbiased serial whole-blood transcriptome profiling by weighted gene network correlation analysis (WGCNA) at pre-specified timepoints of infection to understand SARS-CoV-2-related immune alterations in a cohort of rhesus macaques (RMs) and African green monkeys (AGMs) presenting with varying degrees of pulmonary pathology.  We found that the bulk of transcriptional changes occurred at day 3  post-infection and normalized to pre-infection levels by 3 weeks.  There was evidence of coordination of transcriptional networks in blood (defined by WGCNA) and the nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 burden as well as the absolute monocyte count.  Pathway analysis of gene modules revealed prominent regulation of type I and type II interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) in both RMs and AGMs, with the latter species exhibiting a greater breadth of ISG upregulation.  Notably, pathways relating to neutrophil degranulation were enriched in blood of SARS-CoV-2 infected AGMs, but not RMs.  Our results elude to hallmark similarities as well as differences in the RM and AGM acute response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and may help guide the selection of particular NHP species in modeling aspects of COVID-19 disease outcome. Overall design: Examination of gene networks regulated in response to SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques and African green monkeys