Hibernating little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) show variable immunological responses to white-nose syndrome.

ABSTRACT: White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging infectious disease devastating hibernating North American bat populations that is caused by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans. Previous histopathological analysis demonstrated little evidence of inflammatory responses in infected bats, however few studies have compared other aspects of immune function between WNS-affected and unaffected bats. We collected bats from confirmed WNS-affected and unaffected sites during the winter of 2008-2009 and compared estimates of their circulating levels of total leukocytes, total immunoglobulins, cytokines and total antioxidants. Bats from affected and unaffected sites did not differ in their total circulating immunoglobulin levels, but significantly higher leukocyte counts were observed in bats from a

SUBMITTER: Moore MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3604015 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature