Establishment of immortalized Egyptian Rousettus bat cell lines

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Virology
• Cell Biology
• Zoonotic Disease Research

Background:

• Egyptian Rousettus bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) are significant reservoirs for various pathogens.
• Human activities increase the risk of bat pathogen transmission to humans and other animals.
• Primary bat cells have limited lifespan, necessitating immortalized cell lines for research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish immortalized fibroblast cell lines from Egyptian Rousettus bats.
• To create valuable research tools for studying bat-borne viral pathogens and genomics.
• To investigate methods for achieving stable immortalization of bat cells.

Main Methods:

• Established six fibroblast cell lines from infant and elderly Egyptian Rousettus bat hearts and lungs.
• Transduced three cell lines (K4DT) with cell cycle regulators and human telomerase reverse transcriptase.
• Transfected three cell lines (SV40) with simian virus 40 large T antigen.

Main Results:

• Successfully established six fibroblast cell lines from R. aegyptiacus.
• K4DT cell lines and one SV40 lung cell line showed virtual immortalization and maintained near-diploid karyotypes.
• Two SV40 heart cell lines exhibited aberrant karyotypes, and one young bat cell line had limited proliferation.

Conclusions:

• Developed immortalized Egyptian Rousettus bat cell lines suitable for pathogen research.
• These cell lines offer a stable platform for investigating viral genomics and pathogen biology.
• The study highlights the potential and challenges in creating immortalized bat cell lines for zoonotic disease research.