Monoclonal antibody therapy protects nonhuman primates against mucosal exposure to Lassa virus.

Abstract

Lassa fever (LF) is an acute viral illness that causes thousands of deaths annually in West Africa. There are currently no Lassa virus (LASV) vaccines or antivirals approved for human use. Recently, we showed that combinations of broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (BNhuMAbs) known as Arevirumab-2 or Arevirumab-3 protected up to 100% of cynomolgus macaques against challenge with diverse lineages of LASV when treatment was initiated at advanced stages of disease. This previous work assessed efficacy against parenteral exposure. However, transmission of LASV to humans occurs primarily by mucosal exposure to virus shed from Mastomys rodents. Here, we describe the development of a lethal intranasal exposure macaque model of LF. This model is employed to show that Arevirumab cocktails rescue 100% of macaques from lethal LASV infection when treatment is initiated 8 days after LASV exposure. Our work demonstrates BNhuMAbs have utility in treating LASV infection acquired through mucosal exposure.