Transcriptome profiling of the lungs of K18-hACE2 mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain or beta variant

Diverse severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have emerged since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the immunological and pathological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 beta variant of concern (VOC) compared to the ancestral strain. To investigate a broad spectrum of immunological responses and to determine the underlying mechanisms of differentially expressed cytokines, we analyzed the whole transcriptome of lung homogenates from SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain- and beta variant-infected mice at 4 and 6 dpi. Uninfected controls (n=5), SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain (n=5, 4 dpi), SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain (n=5, 6 dpi), SARS-CoV-2 beta variant (B.1.351) (n=5, 4 dpi), SARS-CoV-2 beta (B.1.351) (n=5, 6 dpi)