Dataset Information

Soluble Glycoprotein Is Not Required for Ebola Virus Virulence in Guinea Pigs.

ABSTRACT: Ebola virus (EBOV) uses transcriptional editing to express several glycoproteins (GPs), including secreted soluble GP (sGP) and structural GP1,2, from a single gene. Recombinant viruses predominantly expressing GP1,2 are known to rapidly mutate and acquire an editing site predominantly expressing sGP in vivo, suggesting an important role of this protein during infection. Therefore, we generated a recombinant virus that is no longer able to express sGP and assessed its virulence in the EBOV guinea pig model. Surprisingly, although this virus remained genetically stable, it did not show any significant attenuation in vivo, showing that sGP is not required for virulence in this model.

SUBMITTER: Hoenen T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4564536 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Soluble Glycoprotein Is Not Required for Ebola Virus Virulence in Guinea Pigs.

Hoenen Thomas T Marzi Andrea A Scott Dana P DP Feldmann Friederike F Callison Julie J Safronetz David D Ebihara Hideki H Feldmann Heinz H

The Journal of infectious diseases 20150509

Ebola virus (EBOV) uses transcriptional editing to express several glycoproteins (GPs), including secreted soluble GP (sGP) and structural GP1,2, from a single gene. Recombinant viruses predominantly expressing GP1,2 are known to rapidly mutate and acquire an editing site predominantly expressing sGP in vivo, suggesting an important role of this protein during infection. Therefore, we generated a recombinant virus that is no longer able to express sGP and assessed its virulence in the EBOV guine ...[more]

PMID: 25957965

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Project description:Ebola virus (EBOV) transmission is currently poorly characterized and is thought to occur primarily by direct contact with infectious material; however transmission from swine to nonhuman primates via the respiratory tract has been documented. To establish an EBOV transmission model for performing studies with statistical significance, groups of six guinea pigs (gps) were challenged intranasally (i.n.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 10,000 times the 50% lethal dose (LD50) of gp-adapted EBOV, and naive gps were then introduced as cage mates for contact exposure at 1 day postinfection (p.i.). The animals were monitored for survival and clinical signs of disease and quantitated for virus shedding postexposure. Changes in the duration of contact of naive gps with infected animals were evaluated for their impact on transmission efficiency. Transmission was more efficient from i.n.- than from i.p.-challenged gps, with 17% versus 83% of naive gps surviving exposure, respectively. Virus shedding was detected beginning at 3 days p.i. from both i.n.- and i.p.-challenged animals. Contact duration positively correlated with transmission efficiency, and the abrogation of direct contact between infected and naive animals through the erection of a steel mesh was effective at stopping virus spread, provided that infectious animal bedding was absent from the cages. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings show that i.n.-infected gps display enhanced lung pathology and EBOV antigen in the trachea, which supports increased virus transmission from these animals. The results suggest that i.n.-challenged gps are more infectious to naive animals than their systemically infected counterparts and that transmission occurs through direct contact with infectious materials, including those transported through air movement over short distances.Ebola is generally thought to be spread between humans though infectious bodily fluids. However, a study has shown that Ebola can be spread from pigs to monkeys without direct contact. Further studies have been hampered, because an economical animal model for Ebola transmission is not available. To address this, we established a transmission model in guinea pigs and determined the mechanisms behind virus spread. The survival data, in addition to microscopic examination of lung and trachea sections, show that mucosal infection of guinea pigs is an efficient model for Ebola transmission. Virus spread is increased with longer contact times with an infected animal and is possible without direct contact between an infected and a naive host but can be stopped if infectious materials are absent. These results warrant consideration for the development of future strategies against Ebola transmission and for a better understanding of the parameters involved in virus spread.

Dataset Information

Soluble Glycoprotein Is Not Required for Ebola Virus Virulence in Guinea Pigs.

Publications

Soluble Glycoprotein Is Not Required for Ebola Virus Virulence in Guinea Pigs.

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