Metabolically purified human stem cell-derived hepatocytes reveal distinct effects of Ebola and Lassa viruses

Abstract

Ebola and Lassa viruses require biosafety-level-4 (BSL4) containment, infect the liver, and cause deadly hemorrhagic fevers. The cellular effects of these viruses, and whether different families of hemorrhagic-fever viruses elicit similar effects, remain fundamental questions in BSL4 virology. Here, we introduce a new metabolic selection approach to create nearly-pure hepatocytes from human pluripotent stem cells, killing non-liver cells by withholding essential nutrients. Unexpectedly, Ebola and Lassa exerted starkly different effects on human hepatocytes. Ebola infection activated the integrated stress response (ISR) and WNT pathways in hepatocytes in vitro and killed them, whereas Lassa did not. Within non-human primates, Ebola likewise infected hepatocytes and activated ISR signaling in vivo. In summary, we present a single-cell transcriptional and chromatin accessibility roadmap of human hepatocyte differentiation, purification, and viral infection.