Filoviruses, such as Ebola and Marburg virus, encode viral proteins with the ability to counteract the type I interferon (IFN-I) response. These IFN-I antagonist proteins are crucial to ensure virus replication, prevent an antiviral state in infected and bystander cells, and impair the ability of antigen-presenting cells to initiate adaptive immune responses. However, in recent years, a number of studies have underscored the conflicting data between in vitro studies and in vivo data obtained in animal models and clinical studies during outbreaks. This review aims to summarize these data and to discuss the relative contributions of IFN-α and IFN-β to filovirus pathogenesis in animal models and humans. Finally, we evaluate the putative utilization of IFN-I in post-exposure therapy and its implications as a biomarker of vaccine efficacy.
Keywords: Interferon; filovirus; immune responses; pathogenicity.