# SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Infection in the Syrian Hamster

> **NIH NIH R21** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $450,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In a few months, a potential second wave of CoVID-19 will be superimposed on the
influenza season, which starts in the fall and typically peaks between December and
February in the United States. By then, the majority of Americans are unlikely to be
immune to SARS-CoV-2. An effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is likely to take months to
years to achieve widespread protection. In addition, reduced social distancing is likely to
elicit regional surges in CoVID-19. Potential synergy between these two respiratory
pathogens could result in significant morbidity in the short-term. In the long term, we face
the reality that SARS-CoV-2 may assume endemic status and may interact with other
seasonal respiratory pathogens for the foreseeable future. The overall goal of this
proposal is to determine whether prior influenza infection worsens CoVID-19- like
disease in the SARS-CoV-2 Syrian hamster model. Recent studies indicate that ACE2
may be upregulated by influenza infection. The Syrian hamster supports infection with
human influenza A H1N1 subtypes as well as contemporary H3N2 subtypes that cannot
replicate in mice. Additionally, the Syrian hamster is a faithful spontaneous animal model
of CoVID-19. We will pursue two aims: 1) to characterize interferon-driven immune
responses and ACE2 expression in hamsters infected intranasally with contemporary
H3N2 and H1N1 influenza strains and 2) to characterize clinical disease course, immune
responses and translationally relevant biomarker alterations following SARS-CoV-2
infection of acutely infected and recovered influenza-infected hamsters. We will use a
factorial design to assess the effects of controllable variables (influenza virus infection
alone, combined influenza/ SARS-CoV-2, acute/recovered status and sex) on clinically
relevant outcome measures (body weight, duration/severity of clinical illness and
pulmonary injury scoring). Cytokine, immune and ACE2 responses will allow us to
assess association of these variables with infection status and clinical phenotype. These
approaches will provide direct and translationally relevant data regarding impact of
influenza on SARS-CoV-2 clinical phenotype, as well as advance understanding of
underlying immune responses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10175735
- **Project number:** 1R21AI158179-01
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Caroline J Zeiss
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $450,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10175735

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10175735, SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Infection in the Syrian Hamster (1R21AI158179-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10175735. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*