Measles Antibodies, Proteins & ELISA Kits

Measles, also known as rubeola, is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the negative sense RNA Measles Virus (MV), belonging to the genus Morbillivirus. Measles is spread through both direct person-to-person contact and by airborne droplets.

Measles is particularly harmful for children, immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women. Typically people who acquire measles develop one or more of the classic triad which is a cough, coryza or conjunctivitis. Other common symptoms are malaise, a fever, rash, headaches and in extreme cases they can progress to laryngotracheobronchitis, pneumonia, otitis media, encephalitis and mortality.

There has been a 75% reduction in measles associated annual deaths since the emergence of live-attenuated vaccines, such as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in developing countries where there are less rigorous vaccination programmes, measles is still a major threat.

During measles infections, the humoral response against MV is generated. In particular, the MV specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody can be detected during primary infection and the body can remain positive for IgM for 30-60 days. As well as this, there are high levels of MV specific IgG antibodies between the acute and convalescence stages of infection. Assay Genie provides Human MV-IgM (Measles virus-Immunoglobulin M) and Human MV-IgG (Measles virus-Immunoglobulin G) ELISA Kits which can aid in vaccine research.

MV contains 8 viral proteins; a fusion protein (F), hemagglutinin (H), matrix protein (M), nucleocapsid protein (NP), phosphoprotein (P), polymerase (L) and the virulence factors (C and V). H is known for mediating the attachment of the virus to the host cell receptor and F is responsible for viral penetration into the host cell whereby it stimulates fusion of both the viral and cellular membranes. V and C proteins suppress host interferon production and aid in viral replication.

The H protein binds to three different receptors; the nectin-4 receptor, SLAM (signaling lymphocyte activation molecule) and CD46 (cluster of differentiation 46). Analyzing what a pathogen binds to in the body and the signaling pathways activated are a key part of vaccine research and development.

Immunometabolism is an important area of science which encompasses regions of metabolism and immunology. Many of the functional capacities of immune cells are dependent on the metabolic state of the cell and its capability to mount an immune response. Assay Genie provides a wide range of immunometabolism assays such as glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, the citric acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) assay kits.

In particular for measles, it has been found that viral infection with MV causes a shift in host metabolism to a high level of glycolysis. MV uses glycolysis of infected cells in order to provide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for viral replication and then the host cells increase the rate of glycolysis in order to compensate for the bioenergetics which the virus utilizes.

A key area of research is the immune response against MV during measles infections. In particular, MV activates the NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome when the nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor NLRP3 recognizes pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of MV. Inflammasome activation causes the production of cytokines such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and IL-18.

As well as this, a wide range of cytokines and chemokines are produced during different stages of measles infections and they include tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 (CXCL8), IL-10, IL-17, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), CCL2, CCL4, CXCL10, CCL22 and CCL13. It is also believed that infection with MV during measles causes immunological amnesia when it infects and depletes memory lymphocytes which are pre-existing. This highlights the long-term effects of measles on host resistance and the importance of rigorous vaccination programmes.

Animal models are useful research tools which are often used in early stages of therapeutic product development and pathogenesis studies. There are different animal models which have been used to analyze the infectivity of MV during measles infections such as rats, mice, non-human primates (NHPs) and many more. For example, the cotton rat model has been shown to replicate measles in the respiratory tract and in lymphoid organs. They have also been used to study MMR vaccines and genetically modified viruses. As well as this, NHPs are key animal models for analyzing the pathogenesis of MV and mice have been used to analyze host receptors which bind to the virus.