March 11, 2026 | Austin, Minn. — Both the Ebola virus and Marburg virus belong to the same formidable virus family (filoviruses). While Ebola is the more well-known of the two, the Marburg virus has a reputation for being unusually efficient at invading human cells, but the reason why has remained elusive.
While rare, the Marburg virus can cause serious disease and is often fatal — and there aren’t yet any vaccines or treatments to protect people who do become infected. With a foe as serious as this, it’s no wonder scientists have been searching for clues pointing to its possible weaknesses — and through a recent study, it appears they’ve found some.
Using The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota’s cryoEM technology, scientists in the lab of Bin Liu, PhD, were able to lift the veil on the Marburg virus’s secrets and take an up-close look at how it operates. What they learned could help develop vaccines, effective treatments, and prevention and response plans to protect communities from outbreaks. They shared their study findings in the scientific journal Nature.
“Research in this area is crucial because Marburg virus causes severe, often deadly hemorrhagic fever, and there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines. Understanding how the virus enters cells at a molecular level helps identify targets for antivirals, antibodies, and vaccines, improving preparedness against outbreaks and potentially saving lives,” Dr. Bin Liu explained.
Hemorrhagic fevers come with a host of painful symptoms that can include fever, rashes, aches, and severe bleeding. They can cause damage to blood vessels and multi-organ failure, which can ultimately lead to death in anywhere from 20–90% of Marburg cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Marburg originates naturally in Egyptian rousette bats and can be transmitted to people and primates. It can spread from person to person via bodily fluids, which can make it difficult to contain when people become infected. This makes it essential to better understand how the virus operates so we can develop preventative measures and treatments to defeat it and protect human health.
“Our study explores how the Marburg virus enters human cells by revealing the structure of its surface glycoprotein, the key protein responsible for infection. Using cryo–electron microscopy, we visualized the protein alone, attached to its cellular receptor called Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1), and bound to a virus-blocking nanobody,” Dr. Liu said.
New Intel: What Researchers Uncovered With CryoEM
Dr. Liu explained that what they discovered helps to explain why the Marburg virus is so effective at invading human cells, and the insights they’ve gathered could guide the development of future antiviral strategies against the virus.
A sugar-covered “cap” on the Marburg virus’s protein (a glycoprotein) helps hide its receptor-binding site to disguise it from the body’s immune system as it invades cells and spreads undercover.
Once the virus comes into contact with a cell, this cap is removed, and the virus’s cellular receptor binds strongly to the cell membrane, which triggers the viral protein to shapeshift. This likely helps the Marburg virus fuse with and enter the cell.
The nanobody used in this study was able to block infection by attaching to the same site used by the virus’s cellular receptor.
Compared with the glycoprotein of the Ebola virus, the Marburg virus glycoprotein binds to the cellular receptor in a different orientation and with stronger affinity. This is likely a factor that helps the Marburg virus enter cells more efficiently than the Ebola virus.
What’s Next
“Future studies could explore how the Marburg virus glycoprotein interacts with other host factors during infection and how structural changes trigger membrane fusion in more detail,” Dr. Liu said. “Additional work is also needed to understand immune evasion strategies, the full range of neutralizing antibodies or nanobodies that can block entry, and how these insights can be translated into effective therapies or vaccines.”
Authors at The Hormel Institute include Postdoctoral Associate Ge Yang, PhD, and Dr. Liu. The study was led by Professor Fang Li, PhD, at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, with Assistant Professor Gang Ye, PhD, also playing a key role in the research.
You can read the paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10240-0
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ABOUT THE HORMEL INSTITUTE
Founded in 1942 by Jay C. Hormel and The Hormel Foundation, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, makes scientific advancements that enhance wellbeing and extend human life. For more than 80 years, we have pursued our mission to conduct research and provide education in the biological sciences with applications in medicine and agriculture. A part of the University of Minnesota's Research and Innovation Office, The Hormel Institute partners with the region's leading biomedical research facilities, including Mayo Clinic.