Fig. 5: SARS-CoV-2 virus load in respiratory tissue.
From: Human ACE2 transgenic pigs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and develop COVID-19-like disease
a SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA levels determined by RT-qPCR at two, four and seven DPI from TURB = nasal turbinates, TRAC = trachea, LUNG = lung. No viral RNA was detected in control WT pigs. P43–P61 indicates individual pig identifier corresponding to each data point (each with two technical replicates). Data represent the mean ± Standard Deviation (S.D.). b Levels of infectious virus from nasal turbinates were determined by TCID50. No infectious virus was detected in trachea or lung. Data represents the mean from two independent experiments (each using two technical replicates). Source data are provided as a Source Data file. c Tissue sections from nasal turbinates and lung were stained for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein demonstrating the presence of viral protein within mucosal epithelial cells of both the upper and lower respiratory tract (arrow) as well as alveolar macrophages (*) and pneumocytes (arrowhead). Representative images shown from hACE2 transgenic pigs. (20x magnification).
