PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Naniche, Denise
AU  - Yeh, Annie
AU  - Eto, Danelle
AU  - Manchester, Marianne
AU  - Friedman, Robert M.
AU  - Oldstone, Michael B. A.
TI  - Evasion of Host Defenses by Measles Virus: Wild-Type Measles Virus Infection Interferes with Induction of Alpha/Beta Interferon Production
AID  - 10.1128/JVI.74.16.7478-7484.2000
DP  - 2000 Aug 15
TA  - Journal of Virology
PG  - 7478--7484
VI  - 74
IP  - 16
4099  - http://jvi.asm.org/content/74/16/7478.short
4100  - http://jvi.asm.org/content/74/16/7478.full
SO  - J. Virol.2000 Aug 15; 74
AB  - Measles is a highly contagious disease currently responsible for over one million childhood deaths, particularly in the developing world. Since alpha/beta interferons (IFNs) are pivotal players both in nonspecific antiviral immunity and in specific cellular responses, their induction or suppression by measles virus (MV) could influence the outcome of a viral infection. In this study we compare the IFN induction and sensitivity of laboratory-passaged attenuated MV strains Edmonston and Moraten with those of recent wild-type viruses isolated and passaged solely on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or on the B958 marmoset B-cell line. We report that two PBMC-grown wild-type measles isolates and two B958-grown strains of MV induce 10- to 80-fold-lower production of IFN by phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) compared to Edmonston and Moraten strains of measles. Preinfection of PBL with these non-IFN-inducing MV isolates prevents Edmonston-induced but not double-stranded-RNA-induced IFN production. This suggests that the wild-type viruses can actively inhibit Edmonston-induced IFN synthesis and that this is not occurring by double-stranded RNA. Furthermore, the wild-type MV is more sensitive than Edmonston MV to the effect of IFN. MV is thus able to suppress the synthesis of the earliest mediator of antiviral immunity, IFN-α/β. This could have important implications in the virulence and spread of MV.