Hamsters in Utah state participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials in Belgium

The genetically modified golden Syrian hamsters developed by researchers at Utah State University have played a key role in animal trials of a possible vaccine to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The Rega Institute in Leuven, Belgium, used hamsters produced by Professor Zhongde Wang and his lab at USU in Logan to test the safety and efficacy of a possible vaccine.

Details of the research conducted by the Rega Institute and its results were published online in the journal Nature this week.

The vaccine candidate has been shown to be safe and effective in several animal models by a team of scientists at the institute.

Animal models play a vital role in vaccine research “because we cannot test them directly in humans. We have to use animal models, (it’s) very critical, ”Wang said.

Utah State University

Wang said two pairs of hamsters were shipped to the Belgian lab in 2018 to start a breeding colony under an agreement with his lab.

“Scientists in my lab and I are very happy that our research is helping to combat this raging COVID-19 pandemic,” Wang said in a statement.

“We are also grateful for the excellent support from the USU Laboratory Animal Research Center to help us carry out the research.

The Wang laboratory, established at USU in 2012, developed the world’s first genetic models of hamsters. The models are used in more than a dozen laboratories and institutions, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Army Infectious Diseases Medical Research Institute and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Hamsters from Wang’s lab are also used in COVID-19 and other studies by the USU Antiviral Research Institute.

“We were the pioneers in developing genetic engineering techniques in this species and now we have about 30 different models. It’s 30 different genetic modifications, ”Wang said in an interview on Wednesday.

As a rule, rodents carry many disease-causing organisms without getting sick. The USU lab has genetically engineered Golden Syrian hamsters to be susceptible to viruses that infect humans.

Viruses frequently bind to human receptors that are not present in animals, limiting the effectiveness of testing for potential drugs to prevent or treat disease. Hamsters in Wang’s lab have a human gene inserted into their DNA for the receptor that this coronavirus binds to to facilitate testing, according to an academic press release.

Because hamsters are designed specifically to respond to disease challenges more like humans, fewer experiments are needed to verify results, which speeds up the process and may reduce the number of animals used in research.

“We take animal welfare extremely seriously, and only the minimum number of animals required is used,” Wang, a professor in the Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, said in an article published on an academic website. .

“On top of that, all procedures are approved by institutional animal care and use committees. It is essential to use these animals in vaccine studies before they can be tested in humans. “