Viruses, Vol. 11, Pages 999: The Roles of Ebola Virus Soluble Glycoprotein in Replication, Pathogenesis, and Countermeasure Development

Viruses, Vol. 11, Pages 999: The Roles of Ebola Virus Soluble Glycoprotein in Replication, Pathogenesis, and Countermeasure Development
Viruses doi: 10.3390/v11110999
Authors:
Wenjun Zhu
Logan Banadyga
Karla Emeterio
Gary Wong
Xiangguo Qiu

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a highly lethal pathogen that has caused several outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans since its emergence in 1976. The EBOV glycoprotein (GP1,2) is the sole viral envelope protein and a major component of immunogenicity; it is encoded by the GP gene along with two truncated versions: soluble GP (sGP) and small soluble GP (ssGP). sGP is, in fact, the primary product of the GP gene, and it is secreted in abundance during EBOV infection. Since sGP shares large portions of its sequence with GP1,2, it has been hypothesized that sGP may subvert the host immune response by inducing antibodies against sGP rather than GP1,2. Several reports have shown that sGP plays multiple roles that contribute to the complex pathogenesis of EBOV. In this review, we focus on sGP and discuss its possible roles with regards to the pathogenesis of EBOV and the development of specific antiviral drugs.

Source: Viruses - October 30, 2019 Category: Virology Authors: Wenjun Zhu Logan Banadyga Karla Emeterio Gary Wong Xiangguo Qiu Tags: Review Source Type: research