Background
Ebolavirus (EBOV) outbreaks, while sporadic, cause tremendous morbidity and mortality. No therapeutics or vaccines are currently licensed; however, a vaccine has shown promise in clinical trials. A critical step towards development of effective therapeutics is a better understanding of factors that govern host susceptibility to this pathogen. As macrophages are an important cell population targeted during virus replication, we explore the effect of cytokine polarization on macrophage infection.
Significance
These studies highlight the ability of macrophage polarization to influence EBOV GP-dependent virus replication in vivo and ex vivo, with M2a polarization upregulating cell surface receptor expression and thereby enhancing virus replication. Our findings provide an increased understanding of the host factors in macrophages governing susceptibility to filoviruses and identify novel murine receptors mediating EBOV entry.