Findings of Canadian researchers published on the 25th August in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens show, that a tumor cell marker is a receptor for measles virus, which could potentially help in the fight against cancer.
Infections are caused, by a virus’ attachment to specific proteins on cell surfaces, called receptors. Dr. Chris Richardson of Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and his colleagues discovered the tumor cell marker, PVRL4 (Nectin 4), is a receptor for the measles virus.
Found in airway cells, the PVRL4 receptor and the measles virus infect tissue in the respiratory tract and lungs. Many cancers that originate from lung, breast, colon and ovarian cells also have large amounts of PVRL4.
Researchers discovered the receptor by comparing the proteins made in virus-susceptible cancer cells to those present in cells resistant to the virus. Due to the fact that PVRL4 is evident in various types of human cancers, the measles virus has the potential to be used to specifically infect cancer cells and turn the immune system against tumors.
Although researchers at the Mayo Clinic already conducted earlier reports on the cancer killing properties of the measles virus, this is the first time that the virus has been shown to target a common receptor that is highly expressed on the surfaces of lung, breast, colon, and ovarian cancer cells. The approach could benefit against the fight of many different cancer types.
Experiments continue to test the approach in mouse tumor models.
Written by Petra Rattue