Measles virus (MeV) is a negative-sense RNA virus with a non-segmented genome and lipid envelope belonging to the morbillivirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family. The MeV genome encodes a total of eight proteins, six of which are structural proteins.

The envelope has surface protrusions composed of viral hemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) glycoproteins. H interacts with viral receptors on susceptible cells for attachment and F interacts with H and the cell membrane for fusion and entry.

The helical ribonucleocapsid is formed by nucleoprotein (N)-encapsulated genomic RNA to which phosphoprotein (P) and large polymerase (L) proteins are attached.

The matrix (M) protein interacts with the ribonucleocapsid and glycoprotein tail to assemble the virion. C and V are nonstructural proteins encoded within the P gene that regulate the cellular response to infection and modulate IFN signaling.

The measles virus is one of the safest and most effective human vaccines, eliciting life-long protective immunity against measles after one or two low-dose vaccinations. Global measles cases surged to nearly 900,000 in 2019, and deaths climbed 50% from 2016 to 2019. To combat the current measles crisis, more than 95% of the global population must receive two doses of measles-containing vaccine as required.

MeV vector-based vaccine platforms offer new opportunities as replicable yet safe viral vectors. MeV vectors have a large foreign gene insertion capacity (>6 kb) and can stably express heterologous genes from other viruses alone or in combination. They can induce humoral and cellular responses even when immunity to MeV already exists.

MeV was also developed as an oncolytic virus. Attenuated Edmonston lineage measles virus (MeV-Edm) vaccine strains can preferentially infect and lyse many cancer cells. Oncolytic MeV-Edm derivatives are genetically engineered to express human carcinoembryonic antigen or human sodium iodide symporter and are currently being tested in clinical trials against ovarian cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, multiple myeloma , mesothelioma, head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.

Detection of measles-specific IgM antibodies in serum is the most common laboratory test. Creative Diagnostics now offers a range of measles virus antigens suitable for IgM and IgG detection. Products such as Recombinant MeV C protein (a.a. 1-186) from E. coli [His] (DAG2317), Recombinant MeV Nucleoprotein Protein (a.a. 89-165) (DAG1597), and Recombinant MeV Nucleocapsid Protein (Schwarz strain) (DAG-P2862) are available at Creative Diagnostics.

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