Project description:Bombali virus (genus Ebolavirus) was identified in organs and excreta of an Angolan free-tailed bat (Mops condylurus) in Kenya. Complete genome analysis revealed 98% nucleotide sequence similarity to the prototype virus from Sierra Leone. No Ebola virus-specific RNA or antibodies were detected from febrile humans in the area who reported contact with bats.
Project description:To assess the chromatin structure of GMP-MoPs, we performed assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) analysis of MDP, cMoP, GMP, proNeu1, proNeu2, and GMP-MoP of mouse BM. The PCA of ATAC-seq positioned GMP-MoPs between proNeu1 and cMoPs.
Project description:Bats are tolerant to highly pathogenic viruses such as Marburg, Ebola, and Nipah, suggesting the presence of a unique immune tolerance toward viral infection. Here, we compared SARS-CoV-2 infection of human and bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) pluripotent cells and fibroblasts. Since bat cells do not express an ACE2 receptor that allows virus infection, we transduced the human ACE2 receptor into the cells and found that transduced cells can be infected with SARS-CoV-2. Compared to human ESCs-hA, infected bat iPSCs-hA produced about a 100-fold lower level of infectious virus and displayed lower toxicity. In contrast, bat fibroblasts (BEF-hA) produced no infectious virus while being infectable and synthesizing viral RNA and proteins, suggesting abortive infection. Indeed, electron microscopy failed to detect virus-like particles in infected bat fibroblasts in contrast to bat iPSCs or human cells, consistent with the latter producing infectious viruses. This suggests that bat somatic but not pluripotent cells have an effective mechanism to control virus replication. Consistent with previous results by others, we find that bat cells have a constitutively activated innate immune system, which might limit SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to human cells.
Project description:This analysis was performed to visualize the distinction between GMP-MoPs and other monocyte and neutrophil progenitors. Transcription factors differentially expressed between GMP-MoPs and cMoPs were selected.
Project description:SILAC labeled human kidney cells (293 cells) or bat kidney cells (PakiT03cells)were infected with Hendra virus for 8 or 24 hours and compared to uninfected control cells. Protein identification and quantitation relied on a combination of Uniprot lists of proteins and Proteomics Informed by Transcriptomics (PIT) analysis whereby RNA extracted from the same samples was deep sequenced and the sequencing data was used to construct mRNA from which possible ORFS were inferred and used as a search space by MaxQuant.
Project description:Bats harbor highly virulent viruses that can infect other mammals, including humans, posing questions about their immune tolerance mechanisms. Bat cells employ multiple strategies to limit virus replication and virus-induced immunopathology, but the coexistence of bats and fatal viruses remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) pathway in bat cells and discovered that they have an enhanced antiviral RNAi response, producing canonical viral small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) upon Sindbis virus (SINV) infection that were missing in human cells. Disruption of Dicer function resulted in increased viral load for three different RNA viruses in bat cells, indicating an interferon-independent antiviral pathway. Furthermore, our findings reveal the simultaneous engagement of Dicer and pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), such as retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), with double-stranded RNA, suggesting that Dicer attenuates the interferon response initiation in bat cells. These insights advance our comprehension of the distinctive strategies bats employ to coexist with viruses.