Institute of Immunology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
PLoS Pathog. 2024 Sep 5;20(9):e1012471. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012471. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Bats are natural reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens, yet the determinants of microbial persistence as well as the specific functionality of their immune system remain largely enigmatic. Their propensity to harbor viruses lethal to humans and/or livestock, mostly in absence of clinical disease, makes bats stand out among mammals. Defending against pathogens relies on avoidance, resistance, and/or tolerance strategies. In bats, disease tolerance has recently gained increasing attention as a prevailing host defense paradigm. We here summarize the current knowledge on immune responses in bats in the context of infection with zoonotic agents and discuss concepts related to disease tolerance. Acknowledging the wide diversity of bats, the broad spectrum of bat-associated microbial species, and immune-related knowledge gaps, we identify research priorities necessary to provide evidence-based proofs for disease tolerance in bats. Since disease tolerance relies on networks of biological processes, we emphasize that investigations beyond the immune system, using novel technologies and computational biology, could jointly advance our knowledge about mechanisms conferring bats reservoir abilities. Although disease tolerance may not be the "one fit all" defense strategy, deciphering disease tolerance in bats could translate into novel therapies and inform prevention of spillover infections to humans and livestock.
蝙蝠是人畜共患病病原体的天然宿主，但微生物持续存在的决定因素以及其免疫系统的特定功能在很大程度上仍是未解之谜。它们倾向于携带对人类和/或牲畜致命的病毒，而且大多数情况下在没有临床疾病的情况下携带这些病毒，这使得蝙蝠在哺乳动物中脱颖而出。抵御病原体依赖于回避、抵抗和/或耐受策略。在蝙蝠中，疾病耐受最近作为一种流行的宿主防御范式引起了越来越多的关注。我们在这里总结了有关感染人畜共患病原体时蝙蝠免疫反应的现有知识，并讨论了与疾病耐受相关的概念。鉴于蝙蝠种类繁多，蝙蝠相关微生物种类广泛，以及免疫相关知识空白，我们确定了提供疾病耐受证据的必要研究重点蝙蝠。由于疾病耐受依赖于生物过程网络，我们强调，超越免疫系统的研究，使用新技术和计算生物学，可以共同提高我们对赋予蝙蝠储存能力的机制的认识。尽管疾病耐受可能不是“一刀切”的防御策略，但破译蝙蝠的疾病耐受能力可以转化为新型疗法，并为预防人畜共患感染提供信息。
