What bats can teach us about co-existing with viruses and preventing severe disease (IMAGE)
Caption
(Concept art representing the study and its findings developed by the study team) Flying in the starry night are our nocturnal and echo-locating bats, the only mammals capable of powered flight. The fire symbolises the inflammation driven by the activation of inflammasomes—multi-protein complexes that assemble inside cells in response to danger or microbial signals. Adaption to flight (a metabolically costly process) may have driven key changes in the bat's immune system that enable it to survive viral and other diseases that would kill other mammals. Among these key changes are differences in the highly expressed protein ASC2, a potent negative regulator of inflammasomes in bats and humans. In bats, however, the ASC2 protein has naturally evolved to dampen inflammation. This insight could lead to the development of novel therapeutics against inflammatory diseases. For a higher-resolution version of the above image, please contact us.
Credit
Qi Su
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