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Animal morbilliviruses and their cross-species transmission potential

Makoto Takeda1, Fumio Seki1, Yuta Yamamoto2

  • 1Department of Virology 3, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Gakuen 4-7-1, Musashimurayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan.

Current Opinion in Virology
|April 29, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Morbilliviruses, like measles virus, use SLAM and PVRL4 receptors. Canine distemper virus can use human SLAM, raising concerns for cross-species transmission if measles virus is eradicated.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Morbilliviruses, including measles virus (MV), utilize signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) and nectin-4 (PVRL4) as cellular receptors.
  • PVRL4 exhibits high amino acid sequence conservation across species, whereas SLAM displays significant variation.
  • While some non-human animal SLAMs serve as receptors for various morbilliviruses, human SLAM is primarily specific to MV.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the receptor usage and host range determinants of morbilliviruses.
  • To understand the implications of canine distemper virus's ability to utilize human SLAM.
  • To assess the potential risk of cross-species morbillivirus transmission to humans.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of SLAM and PVRL4 sequences across different species.
  • Functional assays to determine morbillivirus binding and entry mediated by SLAM and PVRL4.
  • Investigation of innate immune system evasion mechanisms employed by morbilliviruses.

Main Results:

  • Canine distemper virus, known for its broad host range, can effectively use human SLAM as a receptor.
  • Variations in SLAM sequences influence morbillivirus host tropism.
  • Morbillivirus host range is also influenced by their capacity to overcome host innate immunity.

Conclusions:

  • The ability of canine distemper virus to use human SLAM presents a potential zoonotic risk.
  • Eradication of measles virus could increase the likelihood of cross-species transmission of other morbilliviruses to humans.
  • Understanding receptor-virus interactions is crucial for predicting and mitigating morbillivirus spillover events.

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