The role of the Type I interferon response in the resistance of mice to filovirus infection

Adult immunocompetent mice inoculated with Ebola (EBO) or Marburg (MBG) virus do not become ill. A suckling-mouse-passaged variant of EBO Zaire ’76 (‘mouse-adapted EBO-Z’) causes rapidly lethal infection in adult mice after intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation, but does not cause apparent disease when inoculated subcutaneously (s.c.). A series of experiments showed that both forms of resistance to infection are mediated by the Type I interferon response. Mice lacking the cell-surface IFN-α/β receptor died within a week after inoculation of EBO-Z ’76, EBO Sudan, MBG Musoke or MBG Ravn, or after s.c. challenge with mouse-adapted EBO-Z. EBO Reston and EBO Ivory Coast did not cause illness, but immunized the mice against subsequent challenge with mouse-adapted EBO-Z. Normal adult mice treated with antibodies against murine IFN-α/β could also be lethally infected with i.p.-inoculated EBO-Z ’76 or EBO Sudan and with s.c.-inoculated mouse-adapted EBO-Z. Severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice became ill 3–4 weeks after inoculation with EBO-Z ’76, EBO Sudan or MBG Ravn, but not the other viruses. Treatment with anti-IFN-α/β antibodies markedly accelerated the course of EBO-Z ’76 infection. Antibody treatment blocked the effect of a potent antiviral drug, 3-deazaneplanocin A, indicating that successful filovirus therapy may require the active participation of the Type I IFN response. Mice lacking an IFN-α/β response resemble primates in their susceptibility to rapidly progressive, overwhelming filovirus infection. The outcome of filovirus transfer between animal species appears to be determined by interactions between the virus and the innate immune response.