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Published on: November 1, 2011
Cell lines from the Egyptian fruit bat are permissive for modified vaccinia Ankara
Ingo Jordan1, Deborah Horn, Stefanie Oehmke
1ProBioGen AG, Berlin, Germany. ingo.jordan@probiogen.de
Abstract:
Bats are reservoir hosts for a spectrum of infectious diseases. Some pathogens (such as Hendra, Nipah and Marburg viruses) appear to use mainly fruit bats as reservoir. We describe designed immortalization of primary fetal cells from the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) to facilitate isolation and characterization of pathogens associated with these mammals. Three cell lines with different properties were recovered and successful immortalization was confirmed by continuous cultivation for over 18 months. Surprisingly, the cell lines are fully permissive for a highly attenuated poxvirus, modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA). MVA is a safe and well characterized vaccine vector that cannot replicate in most mammalian cells. High permissivity of Rousettus cell lines could justify testing bats for susceptibility to MVA as a replication competent vector with low zoonotic potential to induce herd immunity in bat colonies against viruses causing rabies or haemorrhagic fevers.
Insights
Researchers immortalized Egyptian fruit bat cells, creating cell lines permissive to modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus. This breakthrough aids pathogen study and explores MVA for bat herd immunity against diseases like rabies.
Area of Science:
- Virology and Mammalian Cell Culture
- Infectious Disease Reservoir Research
Background:
- Bats are known reservoirs for numerous infectious diseases, including those caused by Hendra, Nipah, and Marburg viruses.
- Fruit bats (e.g., Rousettus aegyptiacus) are suspected reservoirs for several significant zoonotic pathogens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop immortalized cell lines from Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) primary fetal cells.
- To facilitate the isolation and characterization of pathogens harbored by these mammals.
- To investigate the permissivity of these novel cell lines to Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus.
Main Methods:
- Designed immortalization of primary fetal cells from Rousettus aegyptiacus.
- Continuous cultivation and characterization of resulting cell lines for over 18 months.
- Assessing cell line permissivity to Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA), a highly attenuated poxvirus.
Main Results:
- Three distinct immortalized Rousettus aegyptiacus cell lines were successfully established and maintained for over 18 months.
- These novel bat cell lines demonstrated full permissivity to Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus.
- MVA, typically restricted in replication in mammalian cells, replicated efficiently in the Rousettus cell lines.
Conclusions:
- Immortalized Rousettus aegyptiacus cell lines provide a valuable tool for studying bat-borne pathogens.
- The permissivity of these cell lines to MVA suggests potential for MVA as a replication-competent vector in bats.
- This could enable strategies for inducing herd immunity in bat populations against diseases like rabies and hemorrhagic fevers, with low zoonotic risk.
