Measles virus infection in a transgenic model: Virus-induced immunosuppression and central nervous system disease

Measles virus (MV) infects 40 million persons and kills one million per yea r primarily by suppressing the immune system and afflicting the central ner vous system (CNS). The lack of a suitable small animal model has impeded pr ogress of understanding how MV causes disease and the development of novel therapies and improved vaccines. We tested a transgenic mouse line in which expression of the MV receptor CD46 closely mimicked the location and amoun t of CD46 found in humans. Virus replicated in and was recovered from these animals' immune systems and was associated with suppression of humoral and cellular immune responses. infectious virus was recovered from the CNS, re plicated primarily in neurons, and spread to distal sites presumably by fas t axonal transport. Thus, a small animal model is available for analysis of MV pathogenesis.