Fig. 5: VAED kinetic study: relative body weight, viral loads and antibody responses following challenge infection with SARS-CoV-2.

a Relative body weight over time expressed as percentage of body weight on the day of challenge infection (0 DPI); n = 15 at 0 DPI and decreasing with 3 hamsters on every even DPI. b Area under the curve (AUC) for 5 to 7 DPI, calculated for each hamster and shown as group means (n = 6, subgroups sacrificed at 8 and 10 DPI were used for graphical representation and statistical analysis). Only significant differences are indicated. c Viral RNA loads in lung tissue, as measured by RT-qPCR detecting subgenomic viral RNA. The 50% limit of detection of the PCR assay is indicated by the dotted line. No viral RNA was detected in the re-challenged animals. d Neutralizing antibody titers (end-point titers). Left panel shows datapoints at 0 DPI (n = 15). Right panel displays titers post challenge over time (n = 3 per time point). End-point ELISA titers of total anti-spike (e) and anti-nucleoprotein (N) (f) IgG antibodies. Left panels shows datapoints at 0 DPI (n = 15). Right panels display titers post challenge over time (n = 3 per time point). The dotted lines in all plots represent the detection limit of the respective test. a, b Symbols show group means; c–f Symbols show individual values, n = 3 per group per timepoint; d–f bars illustrate group means. Error bars in plot a shows SD, and in all other plots 95% CI. Differences in group means (b) and group contrasts over time between 2 and 6 DPI (d–e) with p values < 0.05 were considered significant. Level of significance is illustrated with asterisks for the following p values: 0.01 to 0.05 - *; 0.001 to 0.01 - **; 0.0001 to 0.001 - ***; <0.0001 - ****. DPI days post challenge infection.