Broadly acting antibodies found in plasma of Ebola survivors

Recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks, including the 2013-2016 epidemic that ravaged West Africa and the 2018 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlight the need for licensed treatments for this often-deadly disease.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a single filamentous Ebola virus particle. Image credit: NIAID

ZMapp, an experimental therapy comprising three monoclonal antibodies, has shown promise in a clinical trial, but it targets only one of the five known species of Ebola virus. Now, scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a set of powerful, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in the blood of EVD survivors.

In animal studies, two of these antibodies provided substantial protection against disease caused by Zaire ebolavirus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus and Sudan ebolavirus, the three species known to cause fatal human illness.

The investigators analyzed blood plasma from 17 people who had recovered from EVD. Antibodies isolated from two survivors bound to an essential virus protein, called glycoprotein or GP, from Zaire, Bundibugyo and Sudan Ebola virus species, and prevented the viruses from entering host cells.

Ebola virus uses GP to attach to cell membranes and initiate infection. In a series of experiments, the team delineated interactions between various forms of viral GP and three of the newly isolated bNAbs. The results provided evidence of multiple mechanisms by which the antibodies inhibit actions of all forms of GP, thus preventing infection by halting viral entry into the host cell.

The team also determined that one of the bNAbs, EBOV-520, recognizes and binds to a portion of virus GP in such a way that prevents it from interacting with a cell surface protein called NPC1 and initiating the infection cycle.

The researchers conclude that these broadly neutralizing antibodies are promising candidates for further development as therapeutic molecules against several ebolavirus species. (National Institutes of Health)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Skin Microbes and the Immune Response

Skin is a barrier that serves as one of the body’s first lines of defense against harmful microbes. Specialized immune cells within skin tissue help to fight invading organisms. Yet the skin hosts diverse communities of beneficial bacteria, collectively known as the skin microbiota. These microbes that naturally colonize the skin are referred to as commensals.

Artificial Light of Digital Devices Lessens Sleep Quality

Blue light emitted from digital devices could contribute to the high prevalence of reported sleep dysfunction.

Tropical soil disturbance could be hidden source of carbon dioxide

Soils unearthed by deforestation and agriculture unleashing CO2

Patients with an ‘empathic’ GP at reduced risk of early death

Patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes are at a lower risk of early death if they have a doctor who they describe as showing empathy towards them, a new study from the University of Cambridge has found.

New way to save endangered sharks – and our seafood

By using a genetic tool called DNA barcoding, Brazilian researchers could help prevent illegal fishing of threatened shark species and hence help prevent the collapse of some fisheries.

Study by UGR and MIT reveals microbial plankton live in complex communities

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Granada and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that rather than living alone, microbial plankton in the ocean come together in complex albeit short-lived communities. These communities tend to be cohesive and their turnover is rapid and sharp.