Amid rising measles cases in the U.S., scientists have identified antibodies that target the virus's fusion protein, effectively locking it in place and preventing infection, offering a promising new therapeutic avenue.
A group of researchers from La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have made significant progress in finding a way to treat measles, according to an announcement.
This research comes at a time when fewer individuals are getting vaccinated against the virus for various reasons. The treatment, “a new panel of human antibodies,” aims to both protect patients from measles and treat them.
After analyzing measles antibodies in mice using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), the LJI researchers studied human antibodies in a participant who had previously received the measles vaccine. They found “that antibodies targeting the fusion protein work by locking the protein in place, leaving the virus unable to shape shift and infect a host cell.”
