Increased Susceptibility of <i>Rousettus aegyptiacus</i> Bats to Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Challenge Despite Its Distinct Tropism for Gut Epithelia in Bats.

ABSTRACT: Increasing evidence suggests bats are the ancestral hosts of the majority of coronaviruses. In general, coronaviruses primarily target the gastrointestinal system, while some strains, especially Betacoronaviruses with the most relevant representatives SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, also cause severe respiratory disease in humans and other mammals. We previously reported the susceptibility of Rousettus aegyptiacus (Egyptian fruit bats) to intranasal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we compared their permissiveness to an oral infection versus respiratory challenge (intranasal or orotracheal) by assessing virus shedding, host immune responses, tissue-specific pathology, and physiological parameters. While respiratory challenge with a moderate infection dose of 1 × 10⁴ TCID

SUBMITTER: Mohl BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11598992 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature