TY - JOUR
T1 - Recently Identified Mutations in the Ebola Virus-Makona Genome Do Not Alter Pathogenicity in Animal Models
AU - Marzi, Andrea
AU - Chadinah, Spencer
AU - Haddock, Elaine
AU - Feldmann, Friederike
AU - Arndt, Nicolette
AU - Martellaro, Cynthia
AU - Scott, Dana P.
AU - Hanley, Patrick W.
AU - Nyenswah, Tolbert G.
AU - Sow, Samba
AU - Massaquoi, Moses
AU - Feldmann, Heinz
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Ryan Kissinger (Research Technologies Branch [RTB], NIAID) for assistance with the graphical abstract. We thank the BSL4 animal care staff of the Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch and members from RTB (both NIAID, NIH) for support in animal care and sequencing, respectively. This work was funded by the Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018
PY - 2018/5/8
Y1 - 2018/5/8
N2 - Ebola virus (EBOV), isolate Makona, the causative agent of the West African EBOV epidemic, has been the subject of numerous investigations to determine the genetic diversity and its potential implication for virus biology, pathogenicity, and transmissibility. Despite various mutations that have emerged over time through multiple human-to-human transmission chains, their biological relevance remains questionable. Recently, mutations in the glycoprotein GP and polymerase L, which emerged and stabilized early during the outbreak, have been associated with improved viral fitness in cell culture. Here, we infected mice and rhesus macaques with EBOV-Makona isolates carrying or lacking those mutations. Surprisingly, all isolates behaved very similarly independent of the genotype, causing severe or lethal disease in mice and macaques, respectively. Likewise, we could not detect any evidence for differences in virus shedding. Thus, no specific biological phenotype could be associated with these EBOV-Makona mutations in two animal models. Marzi et al. demonstrate that recently identified mutations in the EBOV-Makona genome, which appeared during the West African epidemic, do not significantly alter pathogenicity in IFNAR−/− mice and rhesus macaques. Other factors may have been more important for increased case numbers, case fatalities, and human-to-human transmission during this unprecedented epidemic.
AB - Ebola virus (EBOV), isolate Makona, the causative agent of the West African EBOV epidemic, has been the subject of numerous investigations to determine the genetic diversity and its potential implication for virus biology, pathogenicity, and transmissibility. Despite various mutations that have emerged over time through multiple human-to-human transmission chains, their biological relevance remains questionable. Recently, mutations in the glycoprotein GP and polymerase L, which emerged and stabilized early during the outbreak, have been associated with improved viral fitness in cell culture. Here, we infected mice and rhesus macaques with EBOV-Makona isolates carrying or lacking those mutations. Surprisingly, all isolates behaved very similarly independent of the genotype, causing severe or lethal disease in mice and macaques, respectively. Likewise, we could not detect any evidence for differences in virus shedding. Thus, no specific biological phenotype could be associated with these EBOV-Makona mutations in two animal models. Marzi et al. demonstrate that recently identified mutations in the EBOV-Makona genome, which appeared during the West African epidemic, do not significantly alter pathogenicity in IFNAR−/− mice and rhesus macaques. Other factors may have been more important for increased case numbers, case fatalities, and human-to-human transmission during this unprecedented epidemic.
KW - Ebola Makona
KW - Ebola virus
KW - GP mutation A82V
KW - L mutation D759G
KW - West African epidemic
KW - glycoprotein GP
KW - pathogenicity
KW - polymerase L
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U2 - 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.04.027
DO - 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.04.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 29742435
AN - SCOPUS:85046816295
VL - 23
SP - 1806
EP - 1816
JO - Cell Reports
JF - Cell Reports
SN - 2211-1247
IS - 6
ER -