A new player in the puzzle of filovirus entry

Abstract

The search for therapeutics to treat infections by ebolaviruses and Marburg virus has focused on identifying compounds that interfere with viral entry into host cells. Here, White and Schornberg discuss recent studies that have identified Niemann–Pick C1 (NPC1), a protein that resides deep in the endocytic pathway, as an important host factor in this process. Viruses of the genera Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus are filoviruses that cause haemorrhagic fever in primates, with extremely high fatality rates. Studies have focused on elucidating how these viruses enter host cells, with the aim of developing therapeutics. The ebolavirus glycoprotein has been found to play key parts in all steps of entry. Furthermore, recent studies have identified Niemann–Pick C1 (NPC1), a protein that resides deep in the endocytic pathway, as an important host factor in this process.