Immune responses in hibernating little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease responsible for decimating many bat populations in North America.Pseudogymnoascus destructans(Pd), the psychrophilic fungus responsible for WNS, prospers in the winter habitat of many hibernating bat species. The immune response thatPdelicits in bats is not yet fully understood; antibodies are produced in response to infection byPd, but they may not be protective and indeed may be harmful. To understand how bats respond to infection during hibernation, we studied the effect ofPdinoculation on the survival and gene expression of captive hibernatingMyotis lucifuguswith varying pre-hibernation antifungal antibody titres. We investigated gene expression through the transcription of selected cytokine genes (Il6,Il17a,Il1b,Il4andIfng) associated with inflammatory, Th1, Th2 and Th17 immune responses in wing tissue and lymph nodes. We found no difference in survival between bats with low and high anti-Pdtitres, although anti-Pdantibody production during hibernation differed significantly between infected and uninfected bats. Transcription ofIl6andIl17awas higher in the lymph nodes of infected bats compared with uninfected bats. Increased transcription of these cytokines in the lymph node suggests that a pro-inflammatory immune response to WNS is not restricted to infected tissues and occurs during hibernation. The resulting Th17 response may be protective in euthermic bats, but because it may disrupt torpor, it could be detrimental during hibernation.
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA.|Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland.
T M
0000-0001-5864-4958
TM
Lilley
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA.
J M
0000-0003-2987-4417
JM
Prokkola
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA.|Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
J S
JS
Johnson
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA.
E J
0000-0001-5309-9073
EJ
Rogers
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA.
S
S
Gronsky
Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA.
A
A
Kurta
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA dreeder@bucknell.edu.
D M
0000-0001-8651-2012
DM
Reeder
Biology Department, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837, USA kfield@bucknell.edu.
K A
0000-0001-7417-4386
KA
Field
D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D006605:Hibernation / Q000276:immunology*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009656:North America; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D016207:Cytokines
Pseudogymnoascus destructans; bats; cytokines; fungal infection; gene expression; wildlife disease