[Report] Protective monotherapy against lethal Ebola virus infection by a potently neutralizing antibody

Ebola virus disease in humans is highly lethal, with case fatality rates ranging from 25 to 90%. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine against the virus, underscoring the need for efficacious countermeasures. We ascertained that a human survivor of the 1995 Kikwit Ebola virus disease outbreak maintained circulating antibodies against the Ebola virus surface glycoprotein for more than a decade after infection. From this survivor we isolated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that neutralize recent and previous outbreak variants of Ebola virus and mediate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. Strikingly, monotherapy with mAb114 protected macaques when given as late as 5 days after challenge. Treatment with a single human mAb suggests that a simplified therapeutic strategy for human Ebola infection may be possible.
Authors: Davide Corti, John Misasi, Sabue Mulangu, Daphne A. Stanley, Masaru Kanekiyo, Suzanne Wollen, Aurélie Ploquin, Nicole A. Doria-Rose, Ryan P. Staupe, Michael Bailey, Wei Shi, Misook Choe, Hadar Marcus, Emily A. Thompson, Alberto Cagigi, Chiara Silacci, Blanca Fernandez-Rodriguez, Laurent Perez, Federica Sallusto, Fabrizia Vanzetta, Gloria Agatic, Elisabetta Cameroni, Neville Kisalu, Ingelise Gordon, Julie E. Ledgerwood, John R. Mascola, Barney S. Graham, Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfun, John C. Trefry, Antonio Lanzavecchia, Nancy J. Sullivan

Source: ScienceNOW - March 17, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Davide Corti Source Type: news