The Glycoproteins of All Filovirus Species Use the Same Host Factors for Entry into Bat and Human Cells but Entry Efficiency Is Species Dependent

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 22;11(2):e0149651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149651. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Ebola and marburgviruses, members of the family Filoviridae, can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. The ongoing Ebola virus (EBOV) disease epidemic in Western Africa claimed more than 11,300 lives and was associated with secondary cases outside Africa, demonstrating that filoviruses pose a global health threat. Bats constitute an important natural reservoir of filoviruses, including viruses of the recently identified Cuevavirus genus within the Filoviridae family. However, the interactions of filoviruses with bat cells are incompletely understood. Here, we investigated whether filoviruses employ different strategies to enter human and bat cells. For this, we examined host cell entry driven by glycoproteins (GP) from all filovirus species into cell lines of human and fruit bat origin. We show that all GPs were able to mediate entry into human and most fruit bat cell lines with roughly comparable efficiency. In contrast, the efficiency of entry into the cell line EidNi/41 derived from a straw-colored fruit bat varied markedly between the GPs of different filovirus species. Furthermore, inhibition studies demonstrated that filoviruses employ the same host cell factors for entry into human, non-human primate and fruit bat cell lines, including cysteine proteases, two pore channels and NPC1 (Niemann-Pick C1 molecule). Finally, processing of GP by furin and the presence of the mucin-like domain in GP were dispensable for entry into both human and bat cell lines. Collectively, these results show that filoviruses rely on the same host cell factors for entry into human and fruit bat cells, although the efficiency of the usage of these factors might differ between filovirus species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Chiroptera / virology*
  • Filoviridae / physiology*
  • Furin / genetics
  • Furin / metabolism
  • Glycoproteins / genetics
  • Glycoproteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / genetics
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / metabolism
  • Niemann-Pick C1 Protein
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Proteolysis*
  • Species Specificity
  • Viral Proteins / genetics
  • Viral Proteins / metabolism*
  • Virus Internalization*

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • Glycoproteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • NPC1 protein, human
  • Niemann-Pick C1 Protein
  • Viral Proteins
  • FURIN protein, human
  • Furin

Grants and funding

This study was funded by BMBF (EBOKON Verbund) (https://www.bmbf.de/presse/bmbf-staerkt-forschung-zu-ebola-721.html), the Leibniz foundation (Graduate School for Emerging Infectious Diseases) (http://www.dpz.eu/en/career/graduate-training/emerging-infectious-diseases/leibniz-graduate-school-for-emerging-infectious-diseases-eidis.html) and partly by the Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH. MGH is supported within a German-Mexican cooperation program of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) and CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) by the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.