The Makona Variant of Ebola Virus Is Highly Lethal to Immunocompromised Mice and Immunocompetent Ferrets

Gary Wong; Anders Leung; Shihua He; Wenguang Cao; Marc Antoine De La Vega; Bryan D. Griffin; Geoff Soule; Gary P. Kobinger; Darwyn Kobasa; Xiangguo Qiu

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiy141

The Makona Variant of Ebola Virus Is Highly Lethal to Immunocompromised Mice and Immunocompetent Ferrets

Gary Wong, Anders Leung, Shihua He, Wenguang Cao, Marc Antoine De La Vega, Bryan D. Griffin, Geoff Soule, Gary P. Kobinger, Darwyn Kobasa, Xiangguo Qiu

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

During 2013-2016, a novel isolate of Ebola virus (EBOV-Makona) caused an epidemic in West Africa. The virus was distinct from known EBOV strains (EBOV-Kikwit and EBOV-Mayinga), which were responsible for previous outbreaks in Central Africa. To investigate the pathogenicity of EBOV-Makona, we engineered and rescued an early isolate (H.sapiens-wt/GIN/2014/Makona- Gueckedou-C07, called rgEBOV-C07) using an updated reverse-genetics system. rgEBOV-C07 was found to be highly pathogenic in both the knockout mouse and ferret models, with median lethal dose values of 0.078 and 0.015 plaque-forming units, respectively. Therefore, these animals are appropriate for screening potential countermeasures against EBOV-Makona without the need for species adaptation.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	S466-S470
Journal	Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume	218
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiy141
State	Published - Nov 22 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Ebola
ferrets
knockout mice
pathogenicity
reverse genetics.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Immunology and Allergy
Infectious Diseases

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10.1093/infdis/jiy141

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title = "The Makona Variant of Ebola Virus Is Highly Lethal to Immunocompromised Mice and Immunocompetent Ferrets",

abstract = "During 2013-2016, a novel isolate of Ebola virus (EBOV-Makona) caused an epidemic in West Africa. The virus was distinct from known EBOV strains (EBOV-Kikwit and EBOV-Mayinga), which were responsible for previous outbreaks in Central Africa. To investigate the pathogenicity of EBOV-Makona, we engineered and rescued an early isolate (H.sapiens-wt/GIN/2014/Makona- Gueckedou-C07, called rgEBOV-C07) using an updated reverse-genetics system. rgEBOV-C07 was found to be highly pathogenic in both the knockout mouse and ferret models, with median lethal dose values of 0.078 and 0.015 plaque-forming units, respectively. Therefore, these animals are appropriate for screening potential countermeasures against EBOV-Makona without the need for species adaptation.",

keywords = "Ebola, ferrets, knockout mice, pathogenicity, reverse genetics.",

author = "Gary Wong and Anders Leung and Shihua He and Wenguang Cao and {De La Vega}, {Marc Antoine} and Griffin, {Bryan D.} and Geoff Soule and Kobinger, {Gary P.} and Darwyn Kobasa and Xiangguo Qiu",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018. This article contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.",

year = "2018",

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doi = "10.1093/infdis/jiy141",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Wong, Gary

AU - Leung, Anders

AU - He, Shihua

AU - Cao, Wenguang

AU - De La Vega, Marc Antoine

AU - Griffin, Bryan D.

AU - Soule, Geoff

AU - Kobinger, Gary P.

AU - Kobasa, Darwyn

AU - Qiu, Xiangguo

PY - 2018/11/22

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N2 - During 2013-2016, a novel isolate of Ebola virus (EBOV-Makona) caused an epidemic in West Africa. The virus was distinct from known EBOV strains (EBOV-Kikwit and EBOV-Mayinga), which were responsible for previous outbreaks in Central Africa. To investigate the pathogenicity of EBOV-Makona, we engineered and rescued an early isolate (H.sapiens-wt/GIN/2014/Makona- Gueckedou-C07, called rgEBOV-C07) using an updated reverse-genetics system. rgEBOV-C07 was found to be highly pathogenic in both the knockout mouse and ferret models, with median lethal dose values of 0.078 and 0.015 plaque-forming units, respectively. Therefore, these animals are appropriate for screening potential countermeasures against EBOV-Makona without the need for species adaptation.

AB - During 2013-2016, a novel isolate of Ebola virus (EBOV-Makona) caused an epidemic in West Africa. The virus was distinct from known EBOV strains (EBOV-Kikwit and EBOV-Mayinga), which were responsible for previous outbreaks in Central Africa. To investigate the pathogenicity of EBOV-Makona, we engineered and rescued an early isolate (H.sapiens-wt/GIN/2014/Makona- Gueckedou-C07, called rgEBOV-C07) using an updated reverse-genetics system. rgEBOV-C07 was found to be highly pathogenic in both the knockout mouse and ferret models, with median lethal dose values of 0.078 and 0.015 plaque-forming units, respectively. Therefore, these animals are appropriate for screening potential countermeasures against EBOV-Makona without the need for species adaptation.

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KW - ferrets

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KW - pathogenicity

KW - reverse genetics.

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The Makona Variant of Ebola Virus Is Highly Lethal to Immunocompromised Mice and Immunocompetent Ferrets

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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