Bat Immunoglobulins Formed in Response to Experimental Japanese B Encephalitis (JBE) Virus Infection

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) The immune response of the big brown bat (Eptesicus f. fuscus) to Japanese B encephalitis (JBE) virus was characterized in terms of the influence of the environmental temperature and the route of inoculation on the length of the antibody induction period and the types of immunoglobulins synthesized. Sucrose density gradient analyses, supported by data derived from DEAE-cellulose chromatography and immunoelectrophoresis, indicated that the bats produced at least two types of immunoglobulins. Hyperimmune bat plasma and hyperimmune guinea pig serum against JBE virus were employed in an examination of the virus-antibody interaction. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of the antibody response on the potential role of bats as reservoir hosts for arboviruses in nature.