Host Innate Immune Responses to Infection by Avian- and Bat-borne Viruses

The increasing occurrence of zoonotic infections attributable to avian-borne viruses (i.e. avian influenza viruses H5N1 and H7N9, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, eastern/western equine encephalitis viruses) and bat-borne viruses (i.e. influenza A-like virus, mumps-like virus and strains of coronavirus, filovirus and rhabdo-viruses) has highlighted the need for well-established experimental models of infection and immunity. Infection studies in avian and bat cell lines are compromised by a lack of definitive understanding of the avian and bat innate immune responses and in particular the type I IFN response, which is the first line of defense, particularly upon virus infection. The difficulty in interpreting data from infection studies in human/rodent cell lines is that evolutionarily-optimized immune factors behave differently in non-hosts. Despite the high degree of evolutionary conservation, and assumed similarity in overall function, there are significant differences between the innate immune gene repertoires of chicken (and birds in general) and mammals and between those in bats and other mammals.

This Research Topic covers a wide range of topics related to host innate immune responses to avian- and bat-borne viruses. Researchers may contribute Reviews/Mini Reviews, Original Research or Method articles in the following (but not limited to) topics:
- Viral infection and innate or adaptive immunity
- Viral pathogenesis and host-viral interactions
- Avian/bat - human disease transmission
- Development of immunological, molecular or biochemical reagents and cell lines to study avian/bat immune responses
- Prevention/control strategies for avian- and bat-borne viruses, including the development of vaccines
- Isolation and full genome characterization of novel avian and bat-borne viruses