1/12/2011 PERMALINK
Scientists believe that measles viruses can be modded to target and attack only tumor cells. A new discovery about the process by which measles invades cells has brought the dream of transforming the virus into a weapon against cancer one step closer to reality. A research team including scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Mayo Clinic have produced a detailed picture of the intricate molecular mechanism that measles virus uses to attach to and enter the cells it infects. The key players are two proteins that form the spherical envelope surrounding the genetic material of the measles virus. One is an attachment protein that binds to receptor molecules on the outer membrane of a host cell, and the other is a fusion protein that merges the viral envelope with the cell membrane, enabling the virus to infect the cell.