Matae Ahn

Abstract There have been several major outbreaks of emerging viral diseases, including Hendra, Nipah, Marburg and Ebola virus diseases, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)—as well as the current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Notably, all of these outbreaks have been linked to suspected zoonotic transmission of bat-borne viruses.

Complementary regulation of caspase-1 and IL-1β reveals additional mechanisms of dampened inflammation in bats Geraldine Goh, Matae Ahn, Feng Zhu, Lim Beng Lee, Dahai Luo, Aaron T. Irving, Lin-Fa Wang Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2020, 202003352; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003352117

Abstract Bats are special in their ability to host emerging viruses. As the only flying mammal, bats endure high metabolic rates yet exhibit elongated lifespans. It is currently unclear whether these unique features are interlinked. The important inflammasome sensor, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), has been linked to both viral-induced and age-related inflammation.