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. 1991 Jun;65(6):3161–3166. doi: 10.1128/jvi.65.6.3161-3166.1991

Functional and nonfunctional measles virus matrix genes from lethal human brain infections.

I Ballart 1, M Huber 1, A Schmid 1, R Cattaneo 1, M A Billeter 1
PMCID: PMC240972  PMID: 2033668

Abstract

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a lethal disease induced by the persistence of measles virus in the human brain. In many SSPE cases, the viral matrix (M) protein cannot be detected; in others, M proteins of the expected size are found and sequence analysis of M cDNAs has confirmed that the reading frames are intact, showing only several missense mutations. To determine whether these alterations result in nonfunctional proteins, we have replaced the M gene of an infectious full-length genomic cDNA (from vaccine strain Edmonston) with different M genes derived from four patients with SSPE. One of the SSPE M genes tested proved to be functionally competent, giving rise to a virus yielding titers similar to those of viruses containing the M gene from control lytic strains. The other three SSPE M genes were not functionally competent in the same test. In all three cases, the inactivating changes resided in the carboxyl-terminal half of the M protein, as shown by the exchange of either of the two genes halves. In summary, mutational M gene alterations, which either prevent synthesis of M protein altogether or only allow synthesis of nonfunctional M protein, have been detected by us and by others in 9 of 10 SSPE cases. The one functional M gene appears to be an exception to the rule, indicating that M gene alteration might not be an absolute requirement for disease development.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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