Characterization of Omicron BA.4.6, XBB, and BQ.1.1 Subvariants in Hamsters

Overview

Journal Commun Biol

Specialty Biology

Date 2024 Mar 16

PMID 38491227

Authors

Peter J Halfmann

Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto

Makoto Kuroda

Yuichiro Hirata

Seiya Yamayoshi

Shun Iida

Ryuta Uraki

Mutsumi Ito

Hiroshi Ueki

Yuri Furusawa

Yuko Sakai-Tagawa

Maki Kiso

Tammy Armbrust

Sam Spyra

Ken Maeda

Zhongde Wang

Masaki Imai

Tadaki Suzuki

Yoshihiro Kawaoka

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

During the Omicron wave, previous variants such as BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 were replaced by newer variants with additional mutations in the spike protein. These variants, BA.4.6, BQ.1.1, and XBB, have spread in different countries with different degrees of success. Here, we evaluated the replicative ability and pathogenicity of BA.4.6, BQ1.1, and XBB clinical isolates in male Syrian hamsters. Although we found no substantial differences in weight change among hamsters infected with these Omicron subvariants, the replicative ability of BQ.1.1 and XBB in lung tissue was higher than that of BA.4.6 and BA.5. Of note, BQ.1.1 was lethal in both male and female transgenic human ACE2 hamsters. In competition assays, XBB replicated better than BQ.1.1 in the nasal turbinate tissues of female hamsters previously infected with Omicron BA.2. These results suggest that newer Omicron subvariants in the XBB family are still evolving and should be closely monitored.

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