Computed Tomography and [F]-FDG PET Imaging Provide Additional Readouts for COVID-19 Pathogenesis and Therapies Evaluation in Non-human Primates

Overview

Journal iScience

Publisher Cell Press

Date 2022 Mar 22

PMID 35313622

Authors

Thibaut Naninck

Nidhal Kahlaoui

Julien Lemaitre

Pauline Maisonnasse

Antoine De Mori

Quentin Pascal

Vanessa Contreras

Romain Marlin

Francis Relouzat

Benoit Delache

Cecile Herate

Yoann Aldon

Marit van Gils

Nerea Zabaleta

Raphael Ho Tsong Fang

Nathalie Bosquet

Rogier W Sanders

Luk H Vandenberghe

Catherine Chapon

Roger Le Grand

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Non-human primates (NHPs) are particularly relevant as preclinical models for SARS-CoV-2 infection and nuclear imaging may represent a valuable tool for monitoring infection in this species. We investigated the benefit of computed X-ray tomography (CT) and [F]-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) to monitor the early phase of the disease in a large cohort (n = 76) of SARS-CoV-2 infected macaques. Following infection, animals showed mild COVID-19 symptoms including typical lung lesions. CT scores at the acute phase reflect the heterogeneity of lung burden following infection. Moreover, [F]-FDG PET revealed that FDG uptake was significantly higher in the lungs, nasal cavities, lung-draining lymph nodes, and spleen of NHPs by 5 days postinfection compared to pre-infection levels, indicating early local inflammation. The comparison of CT and PET data from previous COVID-19 treatments or vaccines we tested in NHP, to this large cohort of untreated animals demonstrated the value of imaging in preclinical trials.

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