Research Project
10270978
Summary Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a US and global public health crisis. It has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the US and worldwide. COVID-19 is caused by a novel beta-coronavirus (CoV) known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2, which was reported to cause severe pneumonia and lethal respiratory failure. Little is known about the disease mechanism of this virus. Thus, animal models are urgently needed to start to investigate the SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis mechanisms or test therapeutic interventions. In this application, we propose to establish the tissue tropism of SARS-CoV-2 in vivo by comparing two different mouse models that show moderate or severe disease in parallel. We also propose to test compound libraries to identify inhibitors of viral infection as drug candidates for COVID-19. We will also determine how the virus modulates innate immune responses in vivo in order to establish virulence. The proposed research will have manifold impact on the scientific battlefront on SARS-CoV-2 and the deadly COVID-19.
