Pan-filovirus serum neutralizing antibodies in a subset of Congolese ebolavirus infection survivors

Matthew S. Bramble, Nicole Hoff, Pavlo Gilchuk, Patrick Mukadi, Kai Lu, Reena H. Doshi, Imke Steffen, Bradly P. Nicholson, Allen Lipson, Neerja Vashist, Cyrus Sinai, D'andre Spencer, Garrard Olinger, Emile Okitolonda Wemakoy, Benoit Kebela Illunga, James Pettitt, James Logue, Jonathan Marchand, Justin Varughese, Richard S. BennettPeter Jahrling, Guy Cavet, Tito Serafini, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Eric Vilain, Jean Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, Lisa E. Hensely, Graham Simmons, James E. Crowe, Anne W. Rimoin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

One year after a Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) outbreak occurred in the Boende Health Zone of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during 2014, we sought to determine the breadth of immune response against diverse filoviruses including EBOV, Bundibugyo (BDBV), Sudan (SUDV), and Marburg (MARV) viruses. After assessing the 15 survivors, 5 individuals demonstrated some degree of reactivity to multiple ebolavirus species and, in some instances, Marburg virus. All 5 of these survivors had immunoreactivity to EBOV glycoprotein (GP) and EBOV VP40, and 4 had reactivity to EBOV nucleoprotein (NP). Three of these survivors showed sero-logic responses to the 3 species of ebolavirus GPs tested (EBOV, BDBV, SUDV). All 5 samples also exhibited ability to neutralize EBOV using live virus, in a plaque reduction neutralization test. Remarkably, 3 of these EBOV survivors had plasma antibody responses to MARV GP. In pseudovirus neutralization assays, serum antibodies from a subset of these survivors also neutralized EBOV, BDBV, SUDV, and Taï Forest virus as well as MARV. Collectively, these findings suggest that some survivors of naturally acquired ebolavirus infection mount not only a pan-ebolavirus response, but also in less frequent cases, a pan-filovirus neutralizing response.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1929-1936
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume218
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 5 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • DRC
  • Ebola
  • Filovirus
  • Immune response

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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