Figure 2.

The second stage of MV infection: systemic dissemination. (A) The MV-infected myeloid cells migrate to the draining lymph nodes (black), where they transmit the virus to CD150⁺ lymphocytes (predominantly B-cells and memory CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cells); (B) during viremia infected cells enter the circulation and migrate systemically to various organs and tissues (green), where the infection is further amplified. Infection of skin-resident immune cells results in virus transmission to nectin-4⁺ epithelial cells (green patches); (C) a few days later, depletion of immune cells in lymphoid organs and tissues results in transient immune suppression (grey). MV-specific T-cells infiltrate the skin where they clear the infected cells, which results in the typical measles skin rash (red patches). The green bell-shaped curve in the background represents the viral load over time.