# Modeling Filovirus Infection of and Trafficking through Skin

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $756,964

## Abstract

Abstract:
Filoviruses such as Ebola virus (EBOV) are found on the skin's surface at late times of infection
when viremia is high. Evidence indicates that skin-associated virus is an important source of
virus transmitted to others. Yet, how virus arrives at the surface is not well understood. Our
preliminary studies suggest that EBOV can traffic to the surface of the skin by infecting both
dermal and epidermal cell populations within the skin and that this route of virus delivery to the
skin's surface is important in vivo. Yet, which cells within the skin support filovirus replication
and are principally responsible for virus load are unknown. Here, we seek to understand EBOV
interactions with skin as it egresses from the body. We will also evaluate if EBOV is able to
enter through the intact or abraded skin surface. We hypothesize that direct infection of cells
within the skin serves as an important route of EBOV transmission. To examine this, we will test
the following aims. Purified primary skin cells (e.g. keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and antigen
presenting cells) will be examined for their support of EBOV infection and we will determine if
these same populations are infected in skin explants. Further, we will determine if known cell
surface receptors are expressed in permissive skin cells and explants and if inhibition of virus
interactions with those receptors blocks EBOV infection. We will also assess the timing of skin
involvement in EBOV infection in vivo in mice and in macaques. At the completion of these
important studies, an understanding of EBOV interactions with skin will be developed and a new
model platform will be established for studying filovirus infections of highly relevant human
tissue.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10212949
- **Project number:** 5R01AI134733-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Wendy Jean Maury
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $756,964
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10212949

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10212949, Modeling Filovirus Infection of and Trafficking through Skin (5R01AI134733-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10212949. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*