Ebola virus (EBOV) can persist for many months after survivors have recovered from acute EBOV disease and cause post-EBOV syndrome. Understanding EBOV persistence in vivo has been challenging owing to the lack of an animal model, but now Zeng et al. report the pathological characterization of persistent asymptomatic infection in rhesus monkeys. The authors used fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence to detect viral RNA and proteins in infected tissues, and documented the progressive spread of EBOV into the eyes, brain and testes. They identified CD68+ monocytes as the viral reservoir in the vitreous humour of the eye, the epididymis, and in inflamed regions of the brain, but not in organs that are typically affected during acute infection. This study suggests that rhesus monkeys could provide an animal model to study EBOV persistence and to test new antiviral strategies.
References
Zeng, X. et al. Identification and pathological characterization of persistent asymptomatic Ebola virus infection in rhesus monkeys. Nat. Microbiol. 2, 17113 (2017)
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York, A. Finding the enemy within. Nat Rev Microbiol 15, 513 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.93
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2017.93