SARS-CoV-2 infection protects against rechallenge in rhesus macaques
View ORCID ProfileAbishek Chandrashekar1,*, View ORCID ProfileJinyan Liu1,*, View ORCID ProfileAmanda J. Martinot1,2,*, View ORCID ProfileKatherine McMahan1,*, View ORCID ProfileNoe B. Mercado1,*, View ORCID ProfileLauren Peter1,*, View ORCID ProfileLisa H. Tostanoski1,*, View ORCID ProfileJingyou Yu1,*, View ORCID ProfileZoltan Maliga3, Michael Nekorchuk4, View ORCID ProfileKathleen Busman-Sahay4, View ORCID ProfileMargaret Terry4, View ORCID ProfileLinda M. Wrijil2, View ORCID ProfileSarah Ducat2, David R. Martinez5, View ORCID ProfileCaroline Atyeo3,6, View ORCID ProfileStephanie Fischinger6, View ORCID ProfileJohn S. Burke6, View ORCID ProfileMatthew D. Slein6, View ORCID ProfileLaurent Pessaint7, View ORCID ProfileAlex Van Ry7, View ORCID ProfileJack Greenhouse7, View ORCID ProfileTammy Taylor7, View ORCID ProfileKelvin Blade7, Anthony Cook7, View ORCID ProfileBrad Finneyfrock7, Renita Brown7, Elyse Teow7, Jason Velasco7, View ORCID ProfileRoland Zahn8, View ORCID ProfileFrank Wegmann8, View ORCID ProfilePeter Abbink1, View ORCID ProfileEsther A. Bondzie1, View ORCID ProfileGabriel Dagotto1,3, View ORCID ProfileMakda S. Gebre1,3, Xuan He1, View ORCID ProfileCatherine Jacob-Dolan1,3, View ORCID ProfileNicole Kordana1, Zhenfeng Li1, View ORCID ProfileMichelle A. Lifton1, View ORCID ProfileShant H. Mahrokhian1, View ORCID ProfileLori F. Maxfield1, View ORCID ProfileRamya Nityanandam1, View ORCID ProfileJoseph P. Nkolola1, View ORCID ProfileAaron G. Schmidt6,9, View ORCID ProfileAndrew D. Miller10, View ORCID ProfileRalph S. Baric5, View ORCID ProfileGalit Alter6,9, View ORCID ProfilePeter K. Sorger3, View ORCID ProfileJacob D. Estes4, View ORCID ProfileHanne Andersen7, View ORCID ProfileMark G. Lewis7, View ORCID ProfileDan H. Barouch1,6,9,†
See all authors and affiliations
Science 20 May 2020:
eabc4776
DOI: 10.1126/science.abc4776
Abstract
An understanding of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is critical for vaccine and public health strategies aimed at ending the global COVID-19 pandemic. A key unanswered question is whether infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in protective immunity against re-exposure. We developed a rhesus macaque model of SARS-CoV-2 infection and observed that macaques had high viral loads in the upper and lower respiratory tract, humoral and cellular immune responses, and pathologic evidence of viral pneumonia. Following initial viral clearance, animals were rechallenged with SARS-CoV-2 and showed 5 log10 reductions in median viral loads in bronchoalveolar lavage and nasal mucosa compared with primary infection. Anamnestic immune responses following rechallenge suggested that protection was mediated by immunologic control. These data show that SARS-CoV-2 infection induced protective immunity against re-exposure in nonhuman primates.