CD46, un premier récepteur du virus de la rougeole

CD46 molecule (or membrane cofactor protein, MCP), a member of complement activation regulators, acts as a cellular receptor for measles virus. A functionnal mapping of the protein domains involved in the interaction between CD46 and the virus envelope glycoproteins hemagglutinin (H) and fusion protein (F) is partly available. The corresponding data lead to propose a dynamic model of the two steps of the virus entry, attachement and fusion, as a well-ordered molecular scaffold undergoing successive conformationnal changes. The modulation of the physiological functions of CD46, which could occur through competition with its ligands C3b and C4b, through down-regulation of its expression, and/or through CD46-mediated intracellular signalling, could be involved in the severe cellular immunosuppression induced by measles virus infection.