Inhibition of Ebola Virus by a Molecularly Engineered Banana Lectin

摘要

Author summary There are no approved vaccines or treatments to combat infections with ebolaviruses, which cause Ebola virus disease (EVD), an often rapidly fatal disease characterized by fever and bleeding that results in death in up to ~90% of cases. Ebolaviruses are among the most pathogenic viruses that cause human disease and represent a threat to global public health. Outbreaks of EVD occur periodically in African countries and can be exported elsewhere, with recent outbreaks including one ongoing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the largest ever in Western Africa in 20132016. There is therefore a great need to develop new vaccines and treatments that target ebolaviruses. We examined whether a lectin (carbohydrate-binding protein), predicted to bind to carbohydrates present on the surface of many viruses and thereby interfere with infection, could block ebolavirus infection and be used for prevention and/or treatment of EVD. We found that the protein blocked ebolavirus infection in cell cultures and, moreover, protected a significant proportion of ebolavirus-infected mice from death, even when administered only once before exposure to virus as a preventive. The protein hence shows promise as a potential agent to prevent and/or treat EVD.