The Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Immunotherapeutic Consortium, or VIC, was established in 2014 to develop life-saving antibody therapeutics against some of the world’s deadliest viruses. The VIC represents a field-wide collaboration in which leading laboratories around the world have united to understand what features lead to antibody-mediated protection against these viruses and how we can more rapidly discover ideal treatments. This collaborative effort allows each laboratory to contribute their strengths in analytical techniques towards the identification, characterization, and validation of antibodies against the filoviridae and arenaviridae families. From isolating novel antibodies and testing them in vivo, to the structural analysis of the molecular mechanisms of neutralization, VIC scientists contribute unique insights towards the overall characterization of a broad pool of antibodies. The consortium is funded through a National Institute of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Centers for Excellence in Translational Research program grant.
The continuum of antibody epitopes on the GP waist viewed from the top (left) and side (right). Site A includes the conserved hydrophobic pocket beneath the GP2 tail recognized by Adi-15878. Antibodies interacting with epitopes in Sites A-C are more likely to cross-reactive. Only one naturally occurring human antibody, ADI-15878, is currently known that can … Continued
Single particle negative stain electron microscopy of 6D6 Fab fragment bound to EBOV GP (side view, left and top view, right). The GP and Fab are shown in grey and blue, respectively with the crystal structures shown as ribbon diagrams for reference. The 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa caused by Ebola … Continued
Antibodies targeting the Ebola virus glycoprotein that lack neutralization activity can nonetheless offer protection by promoting activation of natural killer (NK) cells and monocyte phagocytosis. (from Gunn et al. Cell Host Microbe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2018.07.009) In a companion publication to the Saphire et al.Cell manuscript published online in Cell Host Microbe on August 7, 2018 Gunn et … Continued