MR1-Restricted T Cells with MAIT-like Characteristics Are Functionally Conserved in the Pteropid Bat Pteropus alecto
Edwin Leeansyah,
Ying Ying Hey,
Wan Rong Sia,
Justin Han Jia Ng,
Muhammad Yaaseen Gulam,
Caroline Boulouis,
Feng Zhu,
Matae Ahn,
Jeffrey Y.W. Mak,
David P. Fairlie,
Andrea Lay Hoon Kwa,
Johan K. Sandberg,
Lin-Fa Wang
Affiliations
Edwin Leeansyah
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore; Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Stockholm, Sweden; Precision Medicine and Healthcare Research Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, 518055 Shenzhen, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author
Ying Ying Hey
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Wan Rong Sia
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Justin Han Jia Ng
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Muhammad Yaaseen Gulam
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Caroline Boulouis
Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Stockholm, Sweden
Feng Zhu
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Matae Ahn
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Jeffrey Y.W. Mak
Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
David P. Fairlie
Division of Chemistry and Structural Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Andrea Lay Hoon Kwa
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore; Department of Pharmacy, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 169608, Singapore
Johan K. Sandberg
Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 14183 Stockholm, Sweden
Lin-Fa Wang
Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore; SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, Singapore 169857, Singapore; Corresponding author
Summary: Bats are reservoirs for a large number of viruses which have potential to cause major human disease outbreaks, including the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Major efforts are underway to understand bat immune response to viruses, whereas much less is known about their immune responses to bacteria. In this study, MR1-restricted T (MR1T) cells were detected through the use of MR1 tetramers in circulation and tissues of Pteropus alecto (Pa) bats. Pa MR1T cells exhibited weak responses to MR1-presented microbial metabolites at resting state. However, following priming with MR1-presented agonist they proliferated, upregulated critical transcription factors and cytolytic proteins, and gained transient expression of Th1/17-related cytokines and antibacterial cytotoxicity. Collectively, these findings show that the Pa bat immune system encompasses an abundant and functionally conserved population of MR1T cells with mucosal-associated invariant T-like characteristics, suggesting that MR1 and MR1T cells also play a significant role in bat immune defense.
