Host genetic diversity enables Ebola hemorrhagic fever pathogenesis and resistance

AL Rasmussen, A Okumura, MT Ferris, R Green… - Science, 2014 - science.org
AL Rasmussen, A Okumura, MT Ferris, R Green, F Feldmann, SM Kelly, DP Scott…
Science, 2014science.org
Existing mouse models of lethal Ebola virus infection do not reproduce hallmark symptoms
of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, neither delayed blood coagulation and disseminated
intravascular coagulation nor death from shock, thus restricting pathogenesis studies to
nonhuman primates. Here we show that mice from the Collaborative Cross panel of
recombinant inbred mice exhibit distinct disease phenotypes after mouse-adapted Ebola
virus infection. Phenotypes range from complete resistance to lethal disease to severe …
Existing mouse models of lethal Ebola virus infection do not reproduce hallmark symptoms of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, neither delayed blood coagulation and disseminated intravascular coagulation nor death from shock, thus restricting pathogenesis studies to nonhuman primates. Here we show that mice from the Collaborative Cross panel of recombinant inbred mice exhibit distinct disease phenotypes after mouse-adapted Ebola virus infection. Phenotypes range from complete resistance to lethal disease to severe hemorrhagic fever characterized by prolonged coagulation times and 100% mortality. Inflammatory signaling was associated with vascular permeability and endothelial activation, and resistance to lethal infection arose by induction of lymphocyte differentiation and cellular adhesion, probably mediated by the susceptibility allele Tek. These data indicate that genetic background determines susceptibility to Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
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