Coxsackievirus A7 and Enterovirus A71 Significantly Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Cell and Animal Models

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 6; p. 909
• Main Authors: Svyatchenko, Victor A, Legostaev, Stanislav S, Lutkovskiy, Roman Y, Protopopova, Elena V, Ponomareva, Eugenia P, Omigov, Vladimir V, Taranov, Oleg S, Ternovoi, Vladimir A, Agafonov, Alexander P, Loktev, Valery B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.06.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Animal euthanasia; Animal models; Animals; Care and treatment; Cell culture; Chemokines; Chlorocebus aethiops; co-infection; Coinfection - virology; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - virology; coxsackievirus A7; Coxsackievirus infections; Coxsackieviruses; Cricetinae; Cytokines - metabolism; Diagnosis; Disease Models, Animal; Disease transmission; Encephalitis; Enterovirus A, Human - pathogenicity; Enterovirus A, Human - physiology; enterovirus A71; Enterovirus diseases; Enteroviruses; Genomes; Hibernation; Humans; Immune clearance; Immune response; Infections; Laboratory animals; Lung - pathology; Lung - virology; Mesocricetus; Pandemics; Pneumonia; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - physiology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Syrian hamster; Thermal cycling; Vero Cells; Viral infections; Virus Replication; Viruses; Russia; United States > US; Germany; Syrian hamster; SARS-CoV-2; enterovirus A71; co-infection; coxsackievirus A7
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16060909

In this study, we investigated the features of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the enterovirus vaccine strain LEV8 of coxsackievirus A7 or enterovirus A71 for Vero E6 cells and Syrian hamsters. The investigation of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 in the cell model showed that a competitive inhibitory effect for these viruses was especially significant against SARS-CoV-2. Pre-infection with enteroviruses in the animals caused more than a 100-fold decrease in the levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in the respiratory tract and more rapid clearance of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from the lower respiratory tract. Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 also reduced the severity of clinical manifestations of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in the animals. Additionally, the histological data illustrated that co-infection with strain LEV8 of coxsackievirus A7 decreased the level of pathological changes induced by SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs. Research into the chemokine/cytokine profile demonstrated that the studied enteroviruses efficiently triggered this part of the antiviral immune response, which is associated with the significant inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results demonstrate that there is significant viral interference between the studied strain LEV-8 of coxsackievirus A7 or enterovirus A71 and SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo.