Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.04.036 (2019)

Recent outbreaks of Ebola virus (EV) have prompted the need to identify correlates of humoral protection. In Cell, Davis et al. report the findings of a longitudinal study of human antibody responses in patients who survived infection with EV. Despite a robust B cell response to viral proteins early after infection, neutralizing anti-viral responses arose months after infection. Similarly, somatic hypermutation frequencies and immunoglobulin G4 responses arose much later. Analysis of protective neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reveals common EV glycoprotein core elements that might be targeted by vaccines. Multiple independent clones use IGHV3-13*03 variable segments and express a complementarity-determining region 3 of 12 amino acids that includes central phenylalanine–glycine residues. Notably, in vitro screening assays with EV glycoprotein successfully discriminate neutralizing mAbs from non-neutralizing mAbs, which might prove useful in vaccine-development studies.