ABSTRACT
Bats have evolved features unique amongst mammals, including flight, laryngeal echolocation, and certain species have been shown to have a unique immune response that may enable them to tolerate viruses such as SARS-CoVs, MERS-CoVs, Nipah, and Marburg viruses. Robust cellular models have yet to be developed for bats, hindering our ability to further understand their special biology and handling of viral pathogens. To establish bats as new model study species, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a wild greater horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ) using a modified Yamanaka protocol. Rhinolophids are amongst the longest living bat species and are asymptomatic carriers of coronaviruses, including one of the viruses most closely related to SARS-CoV-2. Bat induced pluripotent stem (BiPS) cells were stable in culture, readily differentiated into all three germ layers, and formed complex embryoid bodies, including organoids. The BiPS cells were found to have a core pluripotency gene expression program similar to that of other species, but it also resembled that of cells attacked by viruses. The BiPS cells produced a rich set of diverse endogenized viral sequences and in particular retroviruses. We further validated our protocol by developing iPS cells from an evolutionary distant bat species Myotis myotis (greater mouse-eared bat) non-lethally sampled in the wild, which exhibited similar attributes to the greater horseshoe bat iPS cells, suggesting that this unique pluripotent state evolved in the ancestral bat lineage. Although previous studies have suggested that bats have developed powerful strategies to tame their inflammatory response, our results argue that they have also evolved mechanisms to accommodate a substantial load of endogenous viral sequences and suggest that the natural history of bats and viruses is more profoundly intertwined than previously thought. Further study of bat iPS cells and their differentiated progeny should advance our understanding of the role bats play as virus hosts, provide a novel method of disease surveillance, and enable the functional studies required to ascertain the molecular basis of bats’ unique traits.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of substance use is high among adolescents in several region around the world, specifically in Chile, and its prevention is an important public health challenge. We describe the adaptation and the feasibility to implement the Icelandic model of substance use prevention in adolescents “Planet Youth” in Chile as first experience in Latin America. This community prevention model focuses on the environment, culture and the promotion of health in adolescents, informed by local risk and protective factors. Implementation requires collaboration between academia and municipal authorities. Six municipalities of the Metropolitan Region, the University of Chile and the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis collaborated in the implementation of the Planet Youth model since 2018 in Chile. A substance use survey was translated, adapted, and applied to 7354 tenth grade students. The results were informed to schools and municipalities in order to work on modifications of the main risk and protective factors in their own community. In 2020, the prevention process has required some adaptation due to COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss sociocultural factors in the adaptation of this international prevention model transferred to Latin America. The implementation of the Planet Youth model is feasible in Chile and offers an opportunity to effectively prevent the substance use behaviors of adolescents in Latin America.