Allen Louise C, Turmelle Amy S, Mendonça Mary T, Navara Kristen J, Kunz Thomas H, McCracken Gary F
Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
J Comp Physiol B. 2009 Apr;179(3):315-23. doi: 10.1007/s00360-008-0315-3. Epub 2008 Nov 11.
Bats have recently been implicated as reservoirs of important emerging diseases. However, few studies have examined immune responses in bats, and even fewer have evaluated these responses in an ecological context. We examined aspects of both innate and adaptive immune response in adult female Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) at four maternity roosts (two natural caves and two human-made bridges) in south-central Texas. Immune measurements included in vitro bactericidal ability of whole blood and in vivo T cell mediated response to mitogenic challenge. Bactericidal activity in T. brasiliensis varied with roosting ecology, but appears to be sensitive to colony-level effects. Blood from females living at one cave had significantly lower bactericidal ability than blood from females at three other sites. T cell mediated response in this species was associated with variation in roost ecology, with females from two caves having greater responses than females from two bridges. T cell mediated response and bactericidal activity were negatively correlated with one another within individuals that were tested for both. Variation in immunological response of T. brasiliensis is important for understanding the influence of the environment on the frequency and distribution of immunologically competent individuals and for understanding disease-host dynamics in this and other colonial species.
蝙蝠最近被认为是重要新兴疾病的宿主。然而，很少有研究考察蝙蝠的免疫反应，在生态环境中评估这些反应的研究就更少了。我们在德克萨斯州中南部的四个繁殖栖息地（两个天然洞穴和两个人造桥梁），对成年雌性巴西无尾蝙蝠（巴西无尾蝠）的先天性和适应性免疫反应的多个方面进行了研究。免疫测量包括全血的体外杀菌能力和体内对有丝分裂原刺激的T细胞介导反应。巴西无尾蝠的杀菌活性随栖息生态而变化，但似乎对群体水平的影响敏感。来自一个洞穴的雌性蝙蝠的血液杀菌能力明显低于其他三个地点的雌性蝙蝠的血液。该物种的T细胞介导反应与栖息生态的变化有关，来自两个洞穴的雌性蝙蝠的反应比来自两个人造桥梁的雌性蝙蝠更强。在同时进行两项测试的个体中，T细胞介导反应和杀菌活性呈负相关。巴西无尾蝠免疫反应的变化对于理解环境对具有免疫能力个体的频率和分布的影响，以及理解该物种和其他群居物种的疾病-宿主动态至关重要。
