Myth refutation: Bats carrying viruses but not getting sick, is it just a matter of high body temperature?

Tech 2023-05-22 16:16:14 Source: Network

Bats carry many viruses that are very dangerous to human beings, including Edla virus, Marburg virus, Hendra Setiawan virus, Nipah virus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The prevalence of these viruses has caused a large number of deaths, but bats never get sick

Bats carry many viruses that are very dangerous to human beings, including Edla virus, Marburg virus, Hendra Setiawan virus, Nipah virus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The prevalence of these viruses has caused a large number of deaths, but bats never get sick. Why?

Some online articles tend to attribute this to the higher body temperature of bats, stating that the virus cannot replicate at high body temperatures. If that's the case,Some people say that it is because of the DNA repair ability of bats, which is of great significance in eliminating harmful mutations. It is a magic weapon for bats to live a long life and rarely suffer from cancer, and has little to do with resisting viral infections. So, what is the real reason why bats don't get sick?

Bats in Sri Lanka

How do bats coexist peacefully with viruses?

The mechanisms of mammalian defense against viruses are similar.The first step is to discover alien components, and then initiate an inflammatory reaction to kill the virus and its infected cells, thereby completely eliminating the virus.We know that as the simplest form of life on Earth, viruses do not have a cellular structure, but rather a genetic material, nucleic acid (including DNA and RNA), and a protein shell. When infecting cells, nucleic acids enter the host cell, and the protein shell is thrown away.

The genetic material DNA of eukaryotes mainly exists in the nucleus, with a small amount in mitochondria and chloroplasts. Therefore,The presence of free DNA in the cytoplasm is a very dangerous signal, possibly an invading virus

Inflammatory response is commonly known as "inflammation", which sacrifices a small amount of infected cells for the safety of the entire body. Generally speaking, it is beneficial for the body.

Inflammation is characterized by fever, redness, swelling, and pain

This mechanism is applicable to most mammals, but not to bats.

After comparison, it was found that the immune system of bats is similar to that of other mammals, except for the lack of the PYHIN locus, where genes expressing AIM2 cytoplasmic DNA receptors and IFI16 inflammasomes are located.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a study on three species of bats: the Chinese Chrysanthemum headed bat, the David mouse eared bat, and the central fox bat. It was found that the cytoplasmic DNA receptors and inflammatory responses of bats were inhibited. When free nucleic acids (including viruses) are found in the body of bats, only mild inflammatory reactions occur, unlike other mammals that are at risk.

Research has shown that the reduction of inflammation does not lead to a significant increase in virus concentration in bats, as the inflammatory response in bats, although weakened, has not been completely eliminated. The virus is allowed to continue to survive in bats, but its excessive proliferation is inhibited, making it unable to make waves in bats.

The different reactions of bats and humans when faced with virus invasion result in bats only producing mild immune responses, while the human body produces strong immune responses

Inflammation is ultimately a defense mechanism that "kills a thousand enemies and self damages eight hundred"Although it is usually beneficial to the body, sometimes excessive inflammation can cause damage to the animal body. Especially if the immune system kills a large number of cells and is exhausted without controlling the virus, then moving objects are very dangerous. At this point, if the virus makes a comeback or secondary bacterial infection occurs, the immune system will be unable to organize effective resistance, and the animal will only have a dead end. Therefore,Compared to the way other animals insist on fighting against viruses, the strategy of bats and viruses coexisting peacefully is not very clever

The Coevolution of Bats and Viruses

For the host, individuals with high survival rates under virus invasion have survival advantagesFor viruses, although the stronger their transmission ability, the better, the weaker their ability to cause disease and death, the better

The coevolution of Australian burrow rabbits and myxoma viruses has weakened their toxicity

195061

19912~319962012K5

Under the pressure of natural selection, the virus will gradually optimize in genetics and biochemistry, and finallyIdeal state - continuous transmission without causing serious diseases to the hostViruses are always friendly to their original host, and once they enter the host, they often trigger a bloody stormandand

The Caving Rabbit Invading Australia

Why do bats have so many viruses?

Bats can flyIts mobility is far superior to other mammals, and itVery long lifespan1~330~40

In addition,The social habits of bats make it easy for a virus to spread from one individual to the entire population200

what's more,Bats are also widely mixed with different species

A large group of bats hanging upside down on trees

230012006268

The native antibody library is larger, and high affinity antibodies can be produced without the need for specific immune responsesand

In addition,The activity of interferon in bat cells is high, and the excessive proliferation of the virus is inhibitedandandand

The different reactions between bats and humans when infected with the virus, the high levels of interferon in bats are crucial

Why is the bat virus so dangerous?

andand

As mentioned earlier, bats carry a lot of viruses in their bodies due to their flying, longevity, and social characteristics. However, many birds also have these characteristics. Why don't birds spread such deadly viruses to humans? The reason is,Bats, like humans, are all mammals

Schematic diagram of virus entering cells

Carrier proteins are responsible for the entry and exit of important molecules into and out of cells, making evolution quite conservative,Most mammalian vector proteins are very similarViruses in bats often have a "key" to entering our cells

andThe differentiation between birds and mammals has been going on for 300 million years, with significant differences in carrier proteinsThere are very few viruses that can infect both humans and birds at the same timeand

Although the virus library of bats is shared within species and among different bat speciesThere has been little communication with other mammals for millions of yearsBats can flyandThere has always been a lack of mammalian predators

Xibiao Leopard: The only important bat predator in the feline family

40and36

3736-37.538-393637-38and40When the virus carried by bats infects other animals, it causes inflammation and feverand

and

Egyptian fruit bat

reference

MAhn,et.al.(2019).DampenedNLRP3-mediatedinflammationinbatsandimplicationsforaspecialviralreservoirhost.
JiazhengXie,et.al.(2018).DampenedSTING-DependentInterferonActivationinBats.
TSchountz,MLBaker,JButler,VMunster(2017).ImmunologicalControlofViralinfectionsinBatsandtheemergenceofVirusesHighlypathogenictoHumans.
MAhn,JCui,ATIrving,LFWang(2016).UniquelossofthePYHINgenefamilyinbatsamongstmammals:implicationsforinflammasomesensing.
Shi Hongyan et al. (2006). Preliminary study on the Jinyang rat eared bat

Disclaimer: The content of this article is sourced from the internet. The copyright of the text, images, and other materials belongs to the original author. The platform reprints the materials for the purpose of conveying more information. The content of the article is for reference and learning only, and should not be used for commercial purposes. If it infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, please contact us promptly and we will handle it as soon as possible! We respect copyright and are committed to protecting it. Thank you for sharing.(Email:[email protected])

Mobile advertising space rental

Tag: Myth refutation Bats carrying viruses but not getting sick