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Measles virus and immunomodulation: molecular bases and perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2004

Sibylle Schneider-Schaulies
Affiliation:
Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, University of Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 7, D-97078 Würzburg, Germany.
Volker ter Meulen
Affiliation:
Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, University of Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 7, D-97078 Würzburg, Germany.

Abstract

Measles virus (MV) remains among the most potent global pathogens, killing more than 1 million children annually. The virus induces a profound suppression of immune functions that favours the establishment of, and aggravates the course of, secondary infections. By contrast, MV-specific immune responses are efficiently generated, and these clear the virus from the organism and confer a long-lasting immunity. As sensitisers of pathogen encounter and instructors of the adaptive immune response, professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells play a decisive role in the induction and quality of the MV-specific immune response. However, key features of immune suppression associated with MV are compatible with interference with APC maturation and function, and subsequent qualitative and quantitative alterations of T-cell activation.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2002

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