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Ebola virus (EBOV) causes severe systemic disease in humans and non-human primates characterized by high levels of viremia and virus titers in peripheral organs. The natural portals of virus entry are the mucosal surfaces and the skin where macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) are primary EBOV targets. Due to the migratory properties of DCs, EBOV infection of these cells has been proposed as a necessary step for virus dissemination via draining lymph nodes and blood. Here we utilize chimeric mice with competent hematopoietic-driven immunity, to show that EBOV primarily infects CD11b+ DCs in non-lymphoid and lymphoid tissues, but spares the main cross-presenting CD103+ DC subset. Furthermore, depletion of CD8 and CD4 T cells resulted in loss of early control of virus replication, viremia and fatal Ebola virus disease (EVD). Thus, our findings point out at T cell function as a key determinant of EVD progress and outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The matrix protein of Ebola virus (EBOV) VP40 regulates viral budding, nucleocapsid recruitment, virus structure and stability, viral genome replication and transcription, and has an intrinsic ability to form virus-like particles. The elucidation of the regulation of VP40 functions is essential to identify mechanisms to inhibit viral replication and spread. Post-translational modifications of proteins with ubiquitin-like family members are common mechanisms for the regulation of host and virus multifunctional proteins. Thus far, no SUMOylation of VP40 has been described. Here we demonstrate that VP40 is modified by SUMO and that SUMO is included into the viral like particles (VLPs). We demonstrate that lysine residue 326 in VP40 is involved in SUMOylation, and by analyzing a mutant in this residue we show that SUMO conjugation regulates the stability of VP40 and the incorporation of SUMO into the VLPs. Our study indicates for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that EBOV hijacks the cellular SUMOylation system in order to modify its own proteins. Modulation of the VP40-SUMO interaction may represent a novel target for the therapy of Ebola virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]