[Source: US National Library of Medicine, full page: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Cell Rep. 2018 Jan 30;22(5):1159-1168. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.01.008.
Active Ebola Virus Replication and Heterogeneous Evolutionary Rates in EVD Survivors.
Whitmer SLM1, Ladner JT2, Wiley MR2, Patel K3, Dudas G4, Rambaut A5, Sahr F6, Prieto K2, Shepard SS7, Carmody E8, Knust B3, Naidoo D9, Deen G10, Formenty P9, Nichol ST3, Palacios G2, Ströher U11; Ebola Virus Persistence Study Group.
Author information: 1 Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: evk3@cdc.gov. 2 Center for Genome Sciences, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD, USA. 3 Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. 4 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA. 5 Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, King’s Buildings, Edinburgh, UK; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. 6 Sierra Leone Armed Forces, Freetown, Sierra Leone. 7 Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. 8 Division of Infectious Diseases, NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY, USA. 9 Health Emergency Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. 10 Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone. 11 Viral Special Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: ute.stroeher@gmail.com.
Abstract
Following cessation of continuous Ebola virus (EBOV) transmission within Western Africa, sporadic EBOV disease (EVD) cases continued to re-emerge beyond the viral incubation period. Epidemiological and genomic evidence strongly suggests that this represented transmission from EVD survivors. To investigate whether persistent infections are characterized by ongoing viral replication, we sequenced EBOV from the semen of nine EVD survivors and a subset of corresponding acute specimens. EBOV evolutionary rates during persistence were either similar to or reduced relative to acute infection rates. Active EBOV replication/transcription continued during convalescence, but decreased over time, consistent with viral persistence rather than viral latency. Patterns of genetic divergence suggest a moderate relaxation of selective constraints within the sGP carboxy-terminal tail during persistent infections, but do not support widespread diversifying selection. Altogether, our data illustrate that EBOV persistence in semen, urine, and aqueous humor is not a quiescent or latent infection.
KEYWORDS: EVD survivors; Ebola virus; RNA hyper-editing; evolutionary pressure; evolutionary rates; persistent viral infection
PMID: 29386105 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.01.008
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Keywords: Ebola.
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