Publications by authors named "Kerry J Godwin"
Virus neutralization assays measure neutralizing antibodies in serum and plasma, and the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) is considered the gold standard for measuring levels of these antibodies for many viral diseases. We have developed procedures for the standard PRNT, microneutralization assay (MNA) and pseudotyped virus neutralization assay (PNA) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The MNA offers advantages over the PRNT by reducing assay time, allowing increased throughput and reducing operator workload while remaining dependent upon the use of wild-type virus.
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- A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and animal models, especially non-human primates, are crucial for studying disease mechanisms and testing vaccines.
- Research shows that SARS-CoV-2 infects both rhesus and cynomolgus macaques, causing lung damage similar to mild human cases, with comparable immune responses in both species.
- A new lung histopathology scoring method has been developed to enhance study decisions, suggesting both macaque species should be used for safe and effective intervention evaluations, helping to reduce reliance on rhesus macaques.
There is a vital need for authentic COVID-19 animal models to enable the pre-clinical evaluation of candidate vaccines and therapeutics. Here we report a dose titration study of SARS-CoV-2 in the ferret model. After a high (5 × 10 pfu) and medium (5 × 10 pfu) dose of virus is delivered, intranasally, viral RNA shedding in the upper respiratory tract (URT) is observed in 6/6 animals, however, only 1/6 ferrets show similar signs after low dose (5 × 10 pfu) challenge.
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