Recombinant Antibodies to the Ebola Virus Glycoprotein

Currently, there are no approved therapies for targeted prevention and treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. In the present work, we describe the development of a eukaryotic expression system for the production of three full-length chimeric antibodies (IgG1-kappa isotypes) GPE118, GPE325, and GPE534 to the recombinant glycoprotein of the Ebola virus (EBOV GP), which is a key factor in the pathogenicity of the disease. The immunochemical properties of the obtained antibodies were studied by immunoblotting and indirect, direct, and competitive ELISA using the recombinant EBOV proteins rGPdTM, NP, and VP40. The authenticity of the antibodies and the absence of cross-specificity with respect to the structural proteins NP and VP40 of the Ebola virus were proved. The epitope specificity of the resulting recombinant antibodies was studied using commercial neutralizing antibodies against the viral glycoprotein. The recombinant antibodies GPE118, GPE325, and GPE534 were shown to recognize glycoprotein epitopes that coincide or overlap with the epitopes of three well-studied neutralizing anti-Ebola virus antibodies.