Researchers discover how antibodies neutralize Marburg virus, close relative of Ebola

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) recently gleaned new understanding into how an antibody neutralizes the Marburg virus, a pathogen with no known treatment that holds the same pandemic potential as the Ebola virus.

Previous research indicated that an antibody known as MR191 could neutralize the pathogen, but scientists didn’t understand how. But TSRI researchers recently discovered that MR191 neutralizes the pathogen by mimicking its host receptor and plugging into an area of the viral surface that eliminates the virus’ ability to attach to human cells and spread infection.

“This is the first antibody therapeutic found that could treat Marburg,” Erica Ollmann Saphire, a TSRI professor and senior author of the study, said.

TSRI researchers used a high-resolution imaging technique known as x-ray crystallography and a map of Marburg’s structure to uncover how the antibody neutralizes the Marburg virus. Imaging revealed that a wing protruding from the viral structure is one of two areas where human antibodies can bind.

“With this new structure, we can start to see how this treatment works,” Liam King, a TSRI graduate student and first author of the study, said. “We have also learned new things about the virus itself that could lead to new treatments and vaccines.”

Unlike Ebola virus, the wing of the Marburg virus folds around a glycoprotein spike. The differing structures reveal that “the therapeutic strategy for one may need to be different from the other,” Ollmann Saphire said.