ABSTRACT
Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) is a member of the genus Ebolavirus (Family Filoviridae) and has caused sporadic outbreaks of Ebola disease (EBOD), or more specifically Sudan virus disease (SVD), with high mortality rates in Africa. Current vaccines and therapies that have been developed for filoviruses are almost all specific for Ebola virus (EBOV; of the species Zaire ebolavirus), and there is a current lack of therapeutics specific for SUDV. The recent SUDV outbreak in Uganda, which was distributed across multiple districts, including Kampala, a densely populated urban center, highlights the critical need for the development of novel SUDV-specific or pan-Ebola virus therapeutics. Previous work has characterized two monoclonal antibodies, FVM04 and CA45, which have neutralization capabilities against both EBOV and SUDV and have shown protective efficacy in animal challenge studies. Here, we expand upon this work, showing that treatment with a monoclonal antibody cocktail consisting of FVM04 and CA45 provides full protection against lethal SUDV infection in cynomolgus macaques. Studies that evaluate outcomes at late time points after infection, once clinical signs of illness are apparent, are vital for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of antibody therapeutics. We have shown that when treatment is initiated as late as 5 days after infection, with a second dose given on day 8, that treated groups showed few clinical signs or morbidity, with complete survival. This work provides further evidence that FVM04 and CA45 have strong therapeutic potential against SUDV and their development as a pan-Ebola virus therapeutic should be pursued. IMPORTANCE: There are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for Sudan virus, a filovirus which is highly related to Ebola virus and causes similar disease and outbreaks. In this study, a cocktail of two potent monoclonal antibodies that effectively neutralize Sudan virus was tested in a nonhuman primate model of Sudan virus disease. Treatment was highly effective, even when initiated as late as 5 days after infection, when clinical signs of infection were already evident. All treated animals showed complete recovery from infection, with little evidence of disease, while all animals that received a control treatment succumbed to infection within 8 days. The study further demonstrated the strong therapeutic potential of the antibody treatment and supported further development for use in Sudan virus outbreaks.
ABSTRACT
The highly lethal filoviruses, Ebola and Marburg cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates. To date there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics to counter these infections. Identifying novel pathways and host targets that play an essential role during infection will provide potential targets to develop therapeutics. Small molecule chemical screening for Ebola virus inhibitors resulted in identification of a compound NSC 62914. The compound was found to exhibit anti-filovirus activity in cell-based assays and in vivo protected mice following challenge with Ebola or Marburg viruses. Additionally, the compound was found to inhibit Rift Valley fever virus, Lassa virus and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus in cell-based assays. Investigation of the mechanism of action of the compound revealed that it had antioxidant properties. Specifically, compound NSC 62914 was found to act as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, and to up-regulate oxidative stress-induced genes. However, four known antioxidant compounds failed to inhibit filovirus infection, thus suggesting that the mechanistic basis of the antiviral function of the antioxidant NSC 62914 may involve modulation of multiple signaling pathways/targets.
