title: Assessing the contribution of interferon antagonism to the virulence of West African Ebola viruses.
abstract: The current Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in terms of both its size and duration, and there has been speculation and concern regarding the potential for EBOV to increase in virulence as a result of its prolonged circulation in humans. Here we investigate the relative potency of the interferon (IFN) inhibitors encoded by EBOVs from West Africa, since an important EBOV virulence factor is inhibition of the antiviral IFN response. Based on this work we show that, in terms of IFN antagonism, the West African viruses display no discernible differences from the prototype Mayinga isolate, which corroborates epidemiological data suggesting these viruses show no increased virulence compared with those from previous outbreaks. This finding has important implications for public health decisions, since it does not provide experimental support for theoretical claims that EBOV might gain increased virulence due to the extensive human-to-human transmission in the on-going outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Dunham
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Logan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Banadyga
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groseth
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Abhilash I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Chiramel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Sonja M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Best
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ebihara
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feldmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoenen
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C446938:VP24 protein, Ebola virus; C080980:VP35 protein, filovirus; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; D016899:Interferon-beta