title: Treatment of Lassa virus infection in outbred guinea pigs with first-in-class human monoclonal antibodies.
abstract: Lassa fever is a significant health threat to West African human populations with hundreds of thousands of annual cases. There are no approved medical countermeasures currently available. Compassionate use of the antiviral drug ribavirin or transfusion of convalescent serum has resulted in mixed success depending on when administered or the donor source, respectively. We previously identified several recombinant human monoclonal antibodies targeting the glycoprotein of Lassa virus with strong neutralization profiles in vitro. Here, we demonstrate remarkable therapeutic efficacy using first-in-class human antibodies in a guinea pig model of Lassa infection thereby presenting a promising treatment alternative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA.|Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA.|Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Chad E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mire
authors.affiliation: Zalgen Labs, LLC, Germantown, MD.
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA.|Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Joan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Geisbert
authors.affiliation: Zalgen Labs, LLC, Germantown, MD.
authors.forename: Megan M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.affiliation: Zalgen Labs, LLC, Germantown, MD.
authors.forename: Megan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program, Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone.|Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Augustine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goba
authors.affiliation: Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program, Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone.|Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.|Polytechnic College, Kenema Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Mambu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Momoh
authors.affiliation: Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program, Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone.|Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Donald S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program, Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone.|Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fullah
authors.affiliation: Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Program, Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone.|Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
authors.forename: Sheik Humarr
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Sections of Infectious Disease, Departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA.|Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Geisbert
authors.affiliation: Zalgen Labs, LLC, Germantown, MD.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Garry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007835:Lassa Fever / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D007836:Lassa virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D009500:Neutralization Tests
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral