Description
Immunology of Ebola virus in mice and humans:
Despite the fact that we are still witnessing the largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of all time, very little is known about the pathophysiology of EVD. In particular, due to the lack of small animal models of disease and the difficulties associated to BSL4 research, there has been very limited research on host immunity to ebolaviruses. Our laboratory has tried to tackle this gap in the field by building immunocompetent mouse models for Ebola virus and by going to the field to study EVD immunity in patients. Our research, focused on the mechanisms that modulate the initiation of Ebola virus-specific immunity has served to identify several key immune features of EVD: First, we have identified upregulation of the inhibitory molecule cytotoxic T cell lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) in CD8 T cells as a biomarker of fatal EVD in humans, a finding that underscores the importance of CD8 T cells on EVD immunity; second, we have dissected the role of different dendritic cell (DC) subsets in Ebola virus dissemination from the natural portal of entry to the body. We anticipate that further research will help to identify immune-based targets for EVD post-exposure therapy.
