# Elucidating the immune response of Schreiber's bats to Lloviu virus infection in vitro and in vivo

> **NIH NIH R21** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2022 · $243,800

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Bats play an important role as natural reservoirs of numerous RNA viruses with the potential to cause significant
harm to humans. In this proposal, we focus on Lloviu virus (LLOV), an under-investigated filovirus that circulates
in Schreiber’s bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Europe. Although the pathogenic potential of LLOV for humans
is not known, the close relationship of LLOV to the highly pathogenic Ebola and Marburg viruses raises concerns
that a potential spillover event could lead to an outbreak among humans.
LLOV was first detected Schreiber’s bats in Spain in 2002 and then again in Hungary in 2016. Sequence
comparison of the Spanish and the Hungarian LLOV RNA genomes suggests that RNA editing by cellular
deaminases, such as ADAR and APOBEC, might play a role in LLOV sequence diversification. In this application,
we propose to explore if host-mediated RNA editing drives LLOV sequence divergence and evolution in
Schreiber’s bats.
In Aim 1, we propose to sample Schreiber’s bats from geographically distinct colonies and obtain LLOV sequence
information from infected bats for comparative analysis. We will further develop tools based on highly sensitive
droplet RT-PCR and RNA FISH that allow to determine the expression pattern of ADARs and APOBECs in
LLOV-infected bat cell culture and in blood samples from infected animals.
In Aim 2, based on the determined ADAR and APOBEC expression patterns, we will knockout select ADAR
and/or APOBEC genes that might be involved in LLOV RNA editing in the bat cell line and examine the role of
these genes in LLOV sequence diversification and viral fitness in serial passaging experiments and cell culture
infection studies.
Upon completion of this work, we will have revealed whether host-specific RNA editors are the drivers of LLOV
evolution in bat cells. This work will contribute to our understanding of host-driven viral sequence divergence
and might help assess the risk of potential LLOV spillover events from bats to humans through host-driven
changes in viral sequences.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10458900
- **Project number:** 1R21AI169646-01
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Elke C Muhlberger
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $243,800
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-02-24 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10458900

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10458900, Elucidating the immune response of Schreiber's bats to Lloviu virus infection in vitro and in vivo (1R21AI169646-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10458900. Licensed CC0.

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