The emergence and ensuing dominance of COVID-19 on the world stage has emphasized the urgency of efficient animal models for the development of therapeutics for and assessment of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Shortcomings of current animal models for SARS-CoV-2 include limited lower respiratory disease, divergence from clinical COVID-19 disease, and requirements for host genetic modifications to permit infection. In this study, n = 12 specific-pathogen-free domestic cats were infected intratracheally with SARS-CoV-2 to evaluate clinical disease, histopathologic lesions, and viral infection kinetics at 4 and 8 days post-inoculation; n = 6 sham-inoculated cats served as controls. Intratracheal inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 produced a significant degree of clinical disease (lethargy, fever, dyspnea, and dry cough) consistent with that observed in the early exudative phase of COVID-19. Pulmonary lesions such as diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation, fibrin deposition, and proteinaceous exudates were also observed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, replicating lesions identified in people hospitalized with ARDS from COVID-19. A significant correlation was observed between the degree of clinical disease identified in infected cats and pulmonary lesions. Viral loads and ACE2 expression were also quantified in nasal turbinates, distal trachea, lungs, and other organs. Results of this study validate a feline model for SARS-CoV-2 infection that results in clinical disease and histopathologic lesions consistent with acute COVID-19 in humans, thus encouraging its use for future translational studies.

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Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne infectious disease affecting domestic cats with high mortality and limited treatment modalities. Because early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention are crucial to survival of infected cats, the objective of this study was to develop an ELISA capable of detecting cytauxzoonosis and differentiating acute vs. chronic infection in clinical feline blood samples. A microsphere immunoassay (MIA) was developed to evaluate the production of Cytauxzoon felis-specific IgM and IgG antibodies in serial plasma samples from cats with experimental C. felis infection by targeting a C. felis-specific transmembrane protein (c88). Recombinant c88 protein was utilized to develop indirect ELISAs to detect IgM and IgG antibodies in clinical plasma samples from: PCR-positive cats with acute C. felis infection (n = 36), C. felis-negative cats with pyrexia (n = 10), healthy C. felis-negative cats (n = 22), and chronic C. felis carriers (n = 4). Anti-c88 IgM antibodies were detectable at day 12 post-tick infestation in cats with experimental C. felis infection (within 24 hours of developing clinical signs), while anti-c88 IgG was detectable at day 15 post-tick infestation – indicating IgM could be used to detect early infection. Using a cut-off value of 19.85 percent positive, the C. felis IgM ELISA detected acute cytauxzoonosis in 94.44% (34/36) of cats presented with clinical signs of acute cytauxzoonosis with 100% specificity (indicating a “Strong Positive” result). When a lower cutoff of 8.60 percent positive was used, cytauxzoonosis was detected in the 2 remaining PCR-positive cats with 87.88% specificity (indicating of a “Weak Positive” result). One C. felis-negative, febrile cat had high IgG, and chronic carriers had variable IgM and IgG results. Combined interpretation of IgM and IgG ELISAs did not reliably differentiate acute vs. chronic infection. While further validation on assay performance is needed, the C. felis IgM ELISA is a promising test to detect acute cytauxzoonosis and can be utilized to develop a point-of-care test for clinical use.

The emergence and ensuing dominance of COVID-19 on the world stage has emphasized the urgency of efficient animal models for the development of therapeutics and assessment of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Shortcomings of current animal models for SARS-CoV-2 include limited lower respiratory disease, divergence from clinical COVID-19 disease, and requirements for host genetic modifications to permit infection. This study validates a feline model for SARS-CoV-2 infection that results in clinical disease and histopathologic lesions consistent with severe COVID-19 in humans. Intra-tracheal inoculation of concentrated SARS-CoV-2 caused infected cats to develop clinical disease consistent with that observed in the early exudative phase of COVID-19. A novel clinical scoring system for feline respiratory disease was developed and utilized, documenting a significant degree of lethargy, fever, dyspnea, and dry cough in infected cats. In addition, histopathologic pulmonary lesions such as diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation, fibrin deposition, and proteinaceous exudates were observed due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, imitating lesions identified in people hospitalized with ARDS from COVID-19. A significant correlation exists between the degree of clinical disease identified in infected cats and pulmonary lesions. Viral loads and ACE2 expression were quantified in nasal turbinates, distal trachea, lung, and various other organs. Natural ACE2 expression, paired with clinicopathologic correlates between this feline model and human COVID-19, encourage use of this model for future translational studies.