# Social stress, epigenetics and immune function across bat lifespans

> **NIH NIH R61** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2022 · $299,288

## Abstract

Summary
The overarching goal of this project is to determine how social stress, due either to differences
in social status or lack of social integration, influences innate immunity over the lifespan of bats.
Bats are proposed for study because of their extraordinary longevity and sociality. No other
mammalian group exhibits comparable longevity relative to body size or variation in sociality. In
addition, recent evidence indicates that some bats do not exhibit several hallmarks of aging and
can modulate their immune response to tolerate high levels of virus exposure. The four species
chosen for study are distantly related, include some of the longest-lived species from three
different families, and have been the subject of long-term studies involving individually marked
animals, which makes them uniquely suitable for an aging study. Aim 1 will use gene
expression of mononuclear white blood cells after ex vivo stimulation with lipopolysaccharide
(LPS) to quantify immune response in first year and old (i.e. greater than mean adult lifespan)
individuals of both sexes to determine if there are sex differences in immunity over the lifespan.
DNA methylation will be profiled using a microarray that assays conserved sites and then used
to determine if there are sex differences in epigenetic aging and to identify genomic biomarkers
of aging. Aim 2 will evaluate the effect of social status in males of the four species on both gene
expression and DNA methylation. Male status will be determined either from physical defense of
female groups during the mating season or from estimates of paternity. Aim 3 will assess the
effect of social integration on annual change in gene expression and DNA methylation in two
ways, one of which will utilize variation in female group composition in wild greater spear-nosed
bats and the other will utilize social networks measured at different spatial and temporal scales
using captive vampire bats, which have perhaps the most complex social system of any bat.
The R61 phase of the project will address Aims 1 and 2 in greater spear-nosed bats. The R33
phase will expand the scope of Aims 1 and 2 to include three additional species and will
address Aim 3. The R33 phase will also expand the scope of the DNA methylation profiling by
using whole genome bisulfite sequencing to determine the extent to which sex-specific aging
biomarkers in bats compare to those in humans across the genome. This multispecies approach
has the potential to reveal unique adaptations that contribute to longevity and do not simply
reflect differences between a bat and other mammals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10512581
- **Project number:** 1R61AG078474-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** GERALD S WILKINSON
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,288
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10512581

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10512581, Social stress, epigenetics and immune function across bat lifespans (1R61AG078474-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10512581. Licensed CC0.

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