Journal
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
Volume 106, Issue -, Pages 86-94Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.03.018
Keywords
Filovirus; Marburg virus; Ebola virus; Luciferase; Reverse genetics; Antiviral screen
Categories
Funding
- Research Participation Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Marburg virus (MARV) and Ebola virus (EBOV), members of the family Filoviridae, represent a significant challenge to global public health. Currently, no licensed therapies exist to treat filovirus infections, which cause up to 90% mortality in human cases. To facilitate development of antivirals against these viruses, we established two distinct screening platforms based on MARV and EBOV reverse genetics systems that express secreted Gaussia luciferase (gLuc). The first platform is a mini-genome replicon to screen viral replication inhibitors using gLuc quantification in a BSL-2 setting. The second platform is complementary to the first and expresses gLuc as a reporter gene product encoded in recombinant infectious MARV and EBOV, thereby allowing for rapid quantification of viral growth during treatment with antiviral compounds. We characterized these viruses by comparing luciferase activity to virus production, and validated luciferase activity as an authentic real-time measure of viral growth. As proof of concept, we adapt both mini-genome and infectious virus platforms to high-throughput formats, and demonstrate efficacy of several antiviral compounds. We anticipate that both approaches will prove highly useful in the development of anti-filovirus therapies, as well as in basic research on the filovirus life cycle. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available