Evaluation of the potential impact of Ebola virus genomic drift on the efficacy of sequence-based candidate therapeutics.

ABSTRACT: Until recently, Ebola virus (EBOV) was a rarely encountered human pathogen that caused disease among small populations with extraordinarily high lethality. At the end of 2013, EBOV initiated an unprecedented disease outbreak in West Africa that is still ongoing and has already caused thousands of deaths. Recent studies revealed the genomic changes this particular EBOV variant undergoes over time during human-to-human transmission. Here we highlight the genomic changes that might negatively impact the efficacy of currently available EBOV sequence-based candidate therapeutics, such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs), and antibodies. Ten of the observed mutations modify the sequence of the binding sites of monoclonal antibody (MAb) 13F6, MAb 1H3

SUBMITTER: Kugelman JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4313914 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature