Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31488108›Full record

ArticleBMC biotechnology2019

Intracellular human antibody fragments recognizing the VP35 protein of Zaire Ebola filovirus inhibit the protein activity.

Michela Flego, Aldo Frau, Luisa Accardi, Alessandra Mallano, Alessandro Ascione, Mara Gellini, Elisa Fanunza, Stefano Vella, Paola Di Bonito, Enzo Tramontano

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC biotechnology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 25 Years of Ebola Virus VP35 Research.Journal of molecular biology · 2025
    Review
  2. Conserved Filovirus Proteins as Targets of Broad-Spectrum Antivirals.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
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  11. Applying Antibodies Inside Cells: Principles and Recent Advances in Neurobiology, Virology and Oncology.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2020
    Review
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Michela FlegoIstituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), National Center for Global Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy. michela.flego@iss.it.
Aldo FrauDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato SS554 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.
Luisa AccardiDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Viral Hepatitis, Oncoviruses and Retroviruses (EVOR) unit, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Alessandra MallanoIstituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), National Center for Global Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro AscioneIstituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), National Center for Global Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Mara GelliniIstituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), National Center for Global Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Elisa FanunzaDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato SS554 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.
Stefano VellaIstituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), National Center for Global Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Paola Di BonitoDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Viral Hepatitis, Oncoviruses and Retroviruses (EVOR) unit, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy. paola.dibonito@iss.it.
Enzo TramontanoDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato SS554 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy. tramon@unica.it.
Istituto Superiore di Sanità · ITUniversity of Cagliari · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEbola hemorrhagic fever is caused by the Ebola filovirus (EBOV), which is one of the most aggressive infectious agents known worldwide. The EBOV pathogenesis starts with uncontrolled viral replication and subversion of both the innate and adaptive host immune response. The multifunctional viral VP35 protein is involved in this process by exerting an antagonistic action against the early antiviral alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) response, and represents a suitable target for the development of strategies to control EBOV infection. Phage display technology permits to select antibodies as single chain Fragment variable (scFv) from an artificial immune system, due to their ability to specifically recognize the antigen of interest. ScFv is ideal for genetic manipulation and to obtain antibody constructs useful for targeting either antigens expressed on cell surface or intracellular antigens if the scFv is expressed as intracellular antibody (intrabody) or delivered into the cells.

resultsMonoclonal antibodies (mAb) in scFv format specific for the EBOV VP35 were isolated from the ETH-2 library of human recombinant antibodies by phage display technology. Five different clones were identified by sequencing, produced in E.coli and expressed in CHO mammalian cells to be characterized in vitro. All the selected scFvs were able to react with recombinant VP35 protein in ELISA, one of the scFvs being also able to react in Western Blot assay (WB). In addition, all scFvs were expressed in cell cytoplasm as intrabodies; a luciferase reporter gene inhibition assay performed in A549 cells showed that two of the scFvs can significantly hamper the inhibition of the IFN-β-induced RIG-I signaling cascade mediated by EBOV VP35.

conclusionFive antibodies in scFv format recognize an active form of EBOV VP35 in ELISA, while one antibody also recognizes VP35 in WB. Two of these scFvs were also able to interfere with the intracellular activity of VP35 in a cell system in vitro. These findings suggest that such antibodies in scFv format might be employed to develop therapeutic molecules able to hamper EBOV infections.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ViralFiloviridaeHemorrhagic Fever, EbolaHumansSingle-Chain AntibodiesViral ProteinsAntibodies, ViralSingle-Chain AntibodiesViral ProteinsIntrabodyscFvVP35Zaire ebolavirus

Identifiers

PMID31488108
PMCPMC6727353
OpenAlexW2972026792

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.