| Ebola virus causes rapidly progressive hemorrhagic fever, which is one of the most severe viral infections of humans. Lethal infections of EBOV are associated with severe immunosuppression. Dendritic cells (DCs), which act as gatekeepers at the interface between innate and adaptive immune responses, have been shown to be the initial target cells of Ebola virus at the site of entry, implicating that dendritic cells may play an important role in the immunosuppression characteristic of EBOV infections. In infected dendritic cells, Ebola virus replicates efficiently and inhibits DC maturation without inducing cytokine expression and T cell activation. However, the viral component(s) that impairs DC function remain elusive. Using a HSV-based surrogate system, we were able to highlight a critical role of Ebola VP35 in viral interference of DC maturation. Moreover, we provided evidence showing TRAF6 is a target of VP35. These findings will help us to understand the extreme virulence of Ebola virus, and also suggest that strategies to activate TRAF6 may be useful for treatment of Ebola virus infections. |
