Comparative Immunology of Rousettus aegyptiacus Reservoir with Filovirus
Abstract
The filoviruses, a family which includes Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV), are zoonotic pathogens which likely use bats as reservoir hosts. Although the reservoir host species for EBOV has not been defined, Rousettus aegyptiacus, the Egyptian fruit bat, has been demonstrated to harbor MARV in nature. Despite the important role of bats in maintenance of filoviruses, we know little about their responses to infection and how they are able to survive infections with viruses that are highly lethal in humans. In order to address this major gap in our knowledge, we are defining the Egyptian fruit bat innate immune response to EBOV and MARV infection. Specifically, we are using deep sequencing to profile the Egyptian fruit bat transcriptome in uninfected and infected cells, assembling the bat mRNAs and miRNA sequences and characterizing cell type and tissue specific gene expression. Using the resulting information, we are expressing key Egyptian fruit bat innate signaling proteins for antibody generation and structural studies and are developing assays to profile innate immune responses to viral infection in Egyptian fruit bat cells and tissues. Because filoviral interferon (IFN) antagonist proteins are critical for pathogenesis in rodents and in non-human primate models, we are assessing the function of these innate immune evasion functions in Egyptian fruit bat cells, comparing these functions in human cells and are evaluating the response of bat cells to infection with wild-type filovirus and filoviruses possessing mutated innate immune evasion functions. The resulting data will clarify differences that determine the differential outcome of EBOV and MARV infections in bats versus humans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 29, 2016
- Source ID
- HDTRA11610033
Entities
People
- Christopher F Basler
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- Georgia State University