Researchers find building mutations into Ebola virus protein disrupts ability to cause disease and activates protective immunity researchers find building mutations into Ebola virus protein disrupts ability to cause disease and activates protective immunity

Creating mutations in a key Ebola virus protein that helps the deadly virus escape from the body’s defenses can make the virus unable to produce sickness and activate protective immunity in the infected host, according to a study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University. The mutated virus even works as a vaccine to protect animals from infection with the virulent Ebola virus, researchers said. The study suggests that VP35, a protein that enables Ebola virus to block early immune responses to infection, is critical for virulence and is a potential drug target. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports. Zaire ebolavirus, a member of the filovirus family, is a dangerous pathogen that causes outbreaks of severe, often lethal, disease in humans. A 2013-16 epidemic affected more than 28,000 people and resulted in more than 11,000 deaths, with cases spreading from West Africa to Europe and the United...