Marburg virus survivor immune responses are Th1 skewed with limited neutralizing antibody responses

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Immune responses in filovirus survivors were previously poorly understood.
• Recent outbreaks have expanded knowledge of Ebola virus (EBOV) and Sudan virus (SUDV) immune responses, including T cell and antibody profiles.
• Immune responses to Marburg virus (MARV) have remained largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the immune responses in MARV survivors.
• To compare MARV immune responses with those observed in EBOV and SUDV survivors.
• To identify potential implications for vaccine and therapeutic development.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of immune responses in MARV survivors.
• Comparison of T cell (CD4+ and CD8+) and antibody responses.
• Comparative analysis with previously characterized EBOV and SUDV survivor immune profiles.

Main Results:

• MARV survivors exhibited multivariate CD4+ T cell responses but limited CD8+ T cell responses, similar to SUDV survivors.
• Neutralizing antibody responses in MARV survivors were rare and diminished rapidly post-outbreak, contrasting with SUDV survivors.
• MARV immune responses share some characteristics with EBOV and SUDV but possess distinct features.

Conclusions:

• MARV survivors mount distinct immune responses compared to other filovirus survivors.
• The rapid decline of neutralizing antibodies in MARV survivors has implications for long-term immunity.
• Filovirus vaccine and therapeutic strategies may need to be tailored to specific viral immune profiles for broad protection.