NIH VideoCast - Animal Models for COVID-19: A Critical Component of the Response to the Pandemic

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Animal Models for COVID-19: A Critical Component of the Response to the Pandemic

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2,876 Views

Air date:	Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 3:00:00 PM Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Views:	Total views: 2,876 (1,932 Live, 944 On-demand)
Category:	COVID-19
Runtime:	01:12:22
Closed captioning:	Check box to display CC outside of the video Note: You can drag the captioning window around and resize it
Description:	NIH COVID-19 SIG Lecture Series We are learning more about different aspects of COVID-19 disease manifestations on an almost daily basis. Although data on disease in humans are emerging at a steady pace, certain aspects of the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 can only be studied in detail in animal models where repeated sampling and tissue collection is possible. Non-human primate models that recapitulate aspects of human disease are essential for our understanding of the pathogenic processes involved in severe respiratory disease and for the development of medical countermeasures such as vaccines and antivirals. We have developed a rhesus macaque model that recapitulates COVID-19 with regard to virus replication and shedding, the presence of pulmonary infiltrates, histological lesions, and seroconversion. These data allow us to bridge between the rhesus macaques model and the disease observed in humans and to use this animal model to assess the efficacy of medical countermeasures. While a large number of investigational, approved, and repurposed drugs have been suggested for the treatment of COVID-19, preclinical data from animal models can guide a more focused search for effective treatments in humans by ruling out treatments that have no proven efficacy in vivo. Remdesivir (GS-5734) is a nucleotide analog prodrug with broad antiviral activity, including against coronaviruses, that is currently being investigated in COVID-19 clinical trials worldwide. The therapeutic efficacy of remdesivir was tested in our rhesus macaque model of COVID-19. Remdesivir treatment initiated early during infection had a clear clinical benefit in SARS-CoV-2-infected rhesus macaques.

Author:	Emmie de Wit, Ph.D., Chief, Molecular Pathogenesis Unit, NIAID, NIH

CIT Live ID:	37432
Permanent link:	https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=37432

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