A novel study by Assistant Nia Toshkova and Senior Assistant Dr Violeta Zhelyazkova from the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, conducted under the guidance of Dr Yordan Dimitrov from Sorbonne University, is the first in the world to describe the unique characteristics of thermosensitive antibodies in bats. The study focuses on the remarkable abilities of bats to experience fluctuations in their body temperatures—from just a few degrees above freezing during hibernation to over 40°C during flight, with daily temperature variations reaching up to 20°C. These fluctuations in body temperature significantly impact the range and reactivity of bat antibodies. At lower temperatures, when the host’s metabolism and pathogen replication slow down, the antibodies are less reactive. Conversely, at the higher temperatures typical of active flight, these antibodies become highly reactive, turning into efficient machines for virus neutralization and the clearance of dead cells, providing rapid and effective protection when needed the most. In contrast, human antibodies and those of other mammals and birds included in the comparative analysis do not exhibit this temperature sensitivity. The team’s discoveries are crucial for understanding the evolution of the immune system and have the potential to lead to the development of new targeted antibody therapies for human use.
The research has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications: nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50316-x.