Bombali virus (BOMV), a new ebolavirus, has been genetically identified in insectivorous bats Mops condylurus and Chaerephon pumilus in equatorial Africa. Filoviruses cause recurrent outbreaks of severe, high-mortality disease in humans. To characterize and assess BOMV’s potential virulence, we isolated infectious virus using reverse genetics. We found BOMV morphologically indistinguishable from Ebola virus (EBOV), infected human cells and primary human macrophages, and efficiently used M. condylurus Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) over human NPC1 to enter cells. We found functional complementation between BOMV and EBOV replicase proteins using human host factors in a minigenome system. Both BOMV and EBOV induced proinflammatory genes while inhibiting expression of key macrophage receptors important to controlling phagocytosis and antigen presentation. Unlike EBOV, however, BOMV failed to induce an antiviral response. Here, we provide foundational characterization of a new bat-borne ebolavirus and its potential as a human pathogen.
Keywords: Bombali virus, Ebola virus, NPC1, interferon antagonist, antiviral and monoclonal therapeutics, reverse genetics, host transcription and pathway analysis, bat viruses
McMullan, Laura and Flint, Mike and Jenks, M. Harley and Guerrero, Lisa W. and Chakrabarti, Ayan K. and Goldsmith, Cynthia and Guito, Jonathan C. and Sealy, Tara K. and Coleman-McCray, JoAnn D. and Welch, Stephen R. and Spengler, Jessica R. and Palacios, Gustavo and Bird, Brian and Goldstein, Tracey and Mazet, Jonna AK and Porter, Danielle and Bornholdt, Zachary A. and Zeitlin, Larry and Zaki, Sherif R. and Nichol, Stuart T. and Montgomery, Joel M. and Towner, Jonathan S. and Spiropoulou, Christina F. and Albarino, Cesar, Characterization of Bombali Virus, a New Bat Filovirus. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4035855 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4035855
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.
Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic
FOLLOWERS
13
PAPERS
6,590
Feedback
Feedback to SSRN
If you need immediate assistance, call 877-SSRNHelp (877 777 6435) in the United States, or +1 212 448 2500 outside of the United States, 8:30AM to 6:00PM U.S. Eastern, Monday - Friday.