Non-human primate model of long-COVID identifies immune associates of hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia, and exacerbation of pre-existing deficits in glucose metabolism, are manifestations of the post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2. This study reports a non-human primate model of metabolic post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 using SARS-CoV-2 infected African green monkeys. A dysregulated blood chemokine signature during acute COVID-19 correlated with elevated and persistent hyperglycemia four months post-infection. Hyperglycemia also correlated with liver glycogen levels, but there was no evidence of substantial long-term SARS-CoV-2 replication in the liver and pancreas. A favorable glycemic effect of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, administered on day 4 post-infection, was also observed. These data suggest the African green monkey model exhibits important similarities to humans and can be utilized to assess therapeutic candidates to combat COVID-related metabolic defects.

Clovis S. Palmer, Chrysostomos Perdios, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, Joseph Mudd, Prasun K. Datta, Nicholas J. Maness, Gabrielle Lehmicke, Nadia Golden, Linh Hellmers, Carol Coyne, Kristyn Moore Green, Cecily Midkiff, Kelsey Williams, Rafael Tiburcio, Marissa Fahlberg, Kyndal Boykin, Carys Kenway, Kasi Russell-Lodrigue, Angela Birnbaum, Rudolf Bohm, Robert Blair, Jason P. Dufour, Tracy Fischer, Ahmad A. Saied, Jay Rappaport