ABSTRACT: Transcriptome Profiling of a Pathogenic Response to a Viral Infection in Jamaican Fruit Bats Artibeus jamaicensis Experimentally Infected With Tacaribe Virus
Project description:Bats are a widespread group of mammals thought to host a variety of viruses and other disease agents. Here we performed RNA-sequencing on Artibeus jamaicensis infected with the New World arenavirus, Tacaribe Virus, to generate an extensive bat transcriptome.
Project description:Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) naturally harbor a wide range of viruses of human relevance. These infections are typically mild in bats, suggesting unique features of their immune system. To better understand the immune response to viral infections in bats, we infected Jamaican fruit bats with the bat-derived influenza A virus H18N11. Using comparative single-cell RNA sequencing, we generated a single-cell atlas of the Jamaican fruit bat intestine and mesentery, the target organs of infection. Gene expression profiling showed that H18N11 infection resulted in a moderate induction of interferon-stimulated genes and transcriptional activation of immune cells. H18N11 infection was prominent in various leukocytes, including macrophages, B cells, and NK/T cells. Confirming these findings, human leukocytes, particularly macrophages, were also susceptible to H18N11, highlighting the zoonotic potential of this virus. Our study provides insight into the virus-host relationship and thus serves as a fundamental resource for further characterization of bat immunology.
Project description:Bats are the most important natural reservoirs for a variety of emerging viruses that cause several illnesses in humans and other mammals. Increased viral shedding by bats is thought to be linked to an increased ability of many bat species to tolerate viral infection. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, is thought to have originated in bats, since viruses with high sequence similarity have been detected in bat feces. However, there is no robust in vitro model for assessing the SARS-CoV-2 infection in the bat GI tract. Here, we established gastrointestinal organoid cultures from Jamaican fruit bats (JFB, Artibeus jamaicensis), which replicated the characteristic morphology of the gastrointestinal epithelium and showed tissue specific gene expression patterns and cell differentiation. To analyze whether JFB intestinal epithelial cells are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, we performed in vitro infection experiments. Increased SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in both cell lysates and supernatants from the infected organoids after 48 h, and sgRNA also was detected, indicating that the JFB intestinal epithelium supports limited viral replication. However, no infectious virus was released into the culture media, and no cytopathic effects were observed. Gene expression studies revealed a significant induction of type I interferon and inflammatory cytokine genes in response to active SARS-CoV-2 virus but not to TLR agonist treatment. Untargeted analysis of the organoid proteome using data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) revealed a significant increase in proteins and pathways associated with inflammatory signaling, cell turnover and repair, and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Collectively, our data suggest that primary intestinal epithelial cells from JFBs are largely resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection and cell damage, likely because they are able to mount a strong antiviral interferon and regenerative response upon infection.
