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

23 Scopus citations

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",

month = nov,

day = "22",

doi = "10.1093/infdis/jiy141",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "218",

pages = "S466--S470",

journal = "Journal of Infectious Diseases",

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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

Y1 - 2018/11/22

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.

KW - Ebola

KW - ferrets

KW - knockout mice

KW - pathogenicity

KW - reverse genetics.

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SN - 0022-1899

VL - 218

SP - S466-S470

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JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases

ER -

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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