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Jit8@cdc.gov

Conceptualization, S.G.M.K., B.R.A., J.S.T. and C.C.B.; methodology, S.G.M.K., J.Z., B.R.A., T.K.S., C.G.A., A.J.S., C.C.B. and J.S.T.; formal analysis, S.G.M.K., C.C.B., B.R.A. and J.S.T.; writing—review and editing, S.G.M.K., J.Z., B.R.A., A.J.S., C.C.B. and J.S.T.; supervision, C.C.B. and J.S.T.; funding acquisition, C.C.B. and J.S.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

The authors express our deepest gratitude to Jennifer Kempf, Craig Dixon, Nicole Young and Amanda Peppers of the UGA Histology laboratory for the beautiful H&E sections, and the Iba-1 and CD3 immunohistochemical stains. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or Health and Human Services.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Research Funding:

This research was funded by the University of Georgia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in part by DTRA grant HDTRA1033037.

Keywords:

  • Science & Technology
  • Life Sciences & Biomedicine
  • Virology
  • Sosuga virus
  • zoonoses
  • paramyxovirus
  • Rousettus aegyptiacus
  • Egyptian rousette bat
  • natural reservoir
  • histopathology
  • immunohistochemistry
  • MARBURG VIRUS
  • DISEASE TOLERANCE
  • KASOKERO VIRUS
  • FRUIT BATS
  • AFRICA

Histopathologic and Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Induced Lesions, Tissue Tropism and Host Responses following Experimental Infection of Egyptian Rousette Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) with the Zoonotic Paramyxovirus, Sosuga Virus

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Journal Title:

VIRUSES-BASEL

Volume:

Volume 14, Number 6

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Type of Work:

Article | Final Publisher PDF

Abstract:

Ecological and experimental infection studies have identified Egyptian rousette bats (ERBs; Rousettus aegyptiacus: family Pteropodidae) as a reservoir host for the zoonotic rubula-like paramyxovirus Sosuga virus (SOSV). A serial sacrifice study of colony-bred ERBs inoculated with wild-type, recombinant SOSV identified small intestines and salivary gland as major sites of viral replication. In the current study, archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues from the serial sacrifice study were analyzed in depth—histologically and immunohistochemically, for SOSV, mononuclear phagocytes and T cells. Histopathologic lesion scores increased over time and viral antigen persisted in a subset of tissues, indicating ongoing host responses and underscoring the possibility of chronic infection. Despite the presence of SOSV NP antigen and villus ulcerations in the small intestines, there were only mild increases in mononuclear phagocytes and T cells, a host response aligned with disease tolerance. In contrast, there was a statistically significant, robust and targeted mononuclear phagocyte cell responses in the salivary glands at 21 DPI, where viral antigen was sparse. These findings may have broader implications for chiropteran–paramyxovirus interactions, as bats are hypothesized to be the ancestral hosts of this diverse virus family and for ERB immunology in general, as this species is also the reservoir host for the marburgviruses Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVV) (family Filoviridae).

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© 2022 by the authors.

This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/rdf).
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