ID: 127: Inhibition of inflammasome signaling in the bat immune system

• Published in: Cytokine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 76; no. 1; p. 89
• Main Authors: Irving, Aaron Trent, Ahn, Matae, Dutertre, Charles-Antoine, Wang, Linfa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2015
• ISSN: 1043-4666; 1096-0023
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2015.08.154

Natural reservoir hosts are capable of maintaining low-level infection of pathogens without succumbing to severe disease. Several bat species are now known to be hosts of viruses such as Ebola, SARS, and Hendra, spilling these lethal viruses into the human population. These same infections can cause mass-inflammation in humans and other animals while remaining asymptomatic in the bat. Our data, from investigation of primary bat immune cells and studying bat homologs, suggests that inflammasome activation pathways may be altered with dampened activation in response to stimuli. Interrogation of the pathways reveals poor Asc-recruitment and low induction of caspase-activation to natural and synthetic ligand. Initial observations show several key mutations, altered kinetics and a decrease in sensitivity to induce signaling all appear to be involved. From this we can gain understanding into a natural mechanism for controlling excess inflammation.