COVID-19–related anosmia is associated with viral persistence and inflammation in human olfactory epithelium and brain infection in hamsters

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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infects the olfactory epithelium of hamsters and humans and persists in it in individuals with COVID-19 for several months after infection.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2020.11.18.388819: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variableSARS-CoV-2 model in hamsters: Male and female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) of 5-6 weeks of age (average weight 60-80 grams) were purchased from Janvier Laboratories and handled under specific pathogen-free conditions.
    Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Sections were then blocked in PBS supplemented with 10% goat serum, 4% fetal calf serum and 0.4% Triton X-100 for 2h at room temperature, followed by overnight incubation at 4°C with primary antibodies: rat anti-CD11b (1/100, 550282, BD-Biosciences)
    anti-CD11b
    suggested: (BD Biosciences Cat# 550282, RRID:AB_393577)
    After rinsing, slides were incubated with the appropriate secondary antibodies (1/500: goat anti-rat Alexa Fluor 546, A11081; goat anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 488, A11034; goat anti-mouse IgG2a Alexa Fluor 546, A21133; goat anti-chicken Alexa Fluor 647, A32933, Invitrogen) for 2 hours at room temperature.
    anti-rat
    suggested: (Molecular Probes Cat# A-11081, RRID:AB_141738)
    anti-rabbit
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A-11034, RRID:AB_2576217)
    anti-mouse IgG2a
    suggested: (Innovative Research Cat# A21133, RRID:AB_1500823)
    anti-chicken
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A32933, RRID:AB_2762845)
    A32933
    suggested: None
    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    Viral stocks were titrated on Vero-E6 cells by classical plaque assay using semisolid overlays (Avicel, RC581-NFDR080I, DuPont)(46).
    Vero-E6
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    6 (StataCorp LLC, Texas, USA) and Prism software (GraphPad, version 8, San Diego, USA), with p < 0.05 considered significant.
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)
    Prism
    suggested: (PRISM, RRID:SCR_005375)
    GraphPad
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.


    Results from JetFighter: Please consider improving the rainbow (“jet”) colormap(s) used on pages 27 and 31. At least one figure is not accessible to readers with colorblindness and/or is not true to the data, i.e. not perceptually uniform.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. SciScore for 10.1101/2020.11.18.388819: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementThis interventional study received the approval from the ethical committee “Comité de ProtectionRandomizationnot detected.Blindingnot detected.Power Analysisnot detected.Sex as a biological variableSARS-CoV-2 model in hamsters Male and female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) of 5-6 weeks of age (average weight 60-80 grams) were purchased from Janvier Laboratories and handled under specific pathogen-free conditions.Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Sections were then blocked in PBS supplemented with 10% goat serum, 4% fetal calf serum and 0.4% Triton X-100 for 2h at room temperature, followed by overnight incubation at 4°C with primary antibodies: rat anti-CD11b (1/100, 550282, BD-Biosciences), rabbit anti-SARS- CoV nucleoprotein (1/500, provided by Dr Nicolas Escriou, Institut Pasteur, Paris),
    anti-CD11b
    suggested: (BD Biosciences Cat# 550282, RRID:AB_393577)
    anti-SARS- CoV nucleoprotein
    suggested: None
    After rinsing, slides were incubated with the appropriate secondary antibodies (1/500: goat anti-rat Alexa Fluor 546, A11081; goat anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 488, A11034; goat anti-mouse IgG2a Alexa Fluor 546, A21133; goat anti-chicken Alexa Fluor 647, A32933, Invitrogen) for 2 hours at room temperature.
    anti-rat
    suggested: (Molecular Probes Cat# A-11081, RRID:AB_141738)
    anti-rabbit
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A-11034, RRID:AB_2576217)
    anti-mouse IgG2a
    suggested: (Innovative Research Cat# A21133, RRID:AB_1500823)
    anti-chicken
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A32933, RRID:AB_2762845)
    A32933
    suggested: None
    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    Viral stocks were titrated on Vero-E6 cells by classical plaque assay using semisolid overlays (Avicel, RC581-NFDR080I, DuPont)(46).
    Vero-E6
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Four days before testing, Hamsters received chocolate cereals (Coco pops, Kellogg’s) that they ate within one hour.
    Coco
    suggested: (CoCo, RRID:SCR_010947)
    (StataCorp LLC, Texas, USA) and Prism software (GraphPad, version 8, San Diego, USA), with p < 0.05 considered significant.
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)
    Prism
    suggested: (PRISM, RRID:SCR_005375)
    GraphPad
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.


    Results from TrialIdentifier: We found the following clinical trial numbers in your paper:

    IdentifierStatusTitle
    NCT04366934RecruitingStudy of the Pathogenesis of Olfactory Disorders in COVID-19


    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).


    Results from JetFighter: Please consider improving the rainbow (“jet”) colormap used on pages 27, 31, 31, 31, 31 and 31. At least one figure is not accessible to readers with colorblindness and/or is not true to the data, i.e. not perceptually uniform.


    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. SciScore for 10.1101/2020.11.18.388819: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementThis interventional study received the approval from the ethical committee “Comité de ProtectionRandomizationnot detected.Blindingnot detected.Power Analysisnot detected.Sex as a biological variableSARS-CoV-2 model in hamsters Male and female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) of 5-6 weeks of age (average weight 60-80 grams) were purchased from Janvier Laboratories and handled under specific pathogen-free conditions.Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Sections were then blocked in PBS supplemented with 10% goat serum, 4% fetal calf serum and 0.4% Triton X-100 for 2h at room temperature, followed by overnight incubation at 4°C with primary antibodies: rat anti-CD11b (1/100, 550282, BD-Biosciences), rabbit anti-SARS- CoV nucleoprotein (1/500, provided by Dr Nicolas Escriou, Institut Pasteur, Paris),
    anti-CD11b
    suggested: (BD Biosciences Cat# 550282, RRID:AB_393577)
    anti-SARS- CoV nucleoprotein
    suggested: None
    After rinsing, slides were incubated with the appropriate secondary antibodies (1/500: goat anti-rat Alexa Fluor 546, A11081; goat anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 488, A11034; goat anti-mouse IgG2a Alexa Fluor 546, A21133; goat anti-chicken Alexa Fluor 647, A32933, Invitrogen) for 2 hours at room temperature.
    anti-rat
    suggested: (Molecular Probes Cat# A-11081, RRID:AB_141738)
    anti-rabbit
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A-11034, RRID:AB_2576217)
    anti-mouse IgG2a
    suggested: (Innovative Research Cat# A21133, RRID:AB_1500823)
    anti-chicken
    suggested: (Thermo Fisher Scientific Cat# A32933, RRID:AB_2762845)
    A32933
    suggested: None
    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    Viral stocks were titrated on Vero-E6 cells by classical plaque assay using semisolid overlays (Avicel, RC581-NFDR080I, DuPont)(46).
    Vero-E6
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Four days before testing, Hamsters received chocolate cereals (Coco pops, Kellogg’s) that they ate within one hour.
    Coco
    suggested: (CoCo, RRID:SCR_010947)
    (StataCorp LLC, Texas, USA) and Prism software (GraphPad, version 8, San Diego, USA), with p < 0.05 considered significant.
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)
    Prism
    suggested: (PRISM, RRID:SCR_005375)
    GraphPad
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.


    Results from TrialIdentifier: We found the following clinical trial numbers in your paper:

    IdentifierStatusTitle
    NCT04366934RecruitingStudy of the Pathogenesis of Olfactory Disorders in COVID-19


    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).


    Results from JetFighter: Please consider improving the rainbow (“jet”) colormap used on pages 27, 31, 31, 31, 31 and 31. At least one figure is not accessible to readers with colorblindness and/or is not true to the data, i.e. not perceptually uniform.


    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.