日本研究人員在10日的《自然·結(jié)構(gòu)和分子生物學(xué)》網(wǎng)絡(luò)版上發(fā)表論文說，他們從原子層面探明麻疹病毒入侵細(xì)胞時(shí)起重要作用的蛋白質(zhì)及其受體結(jié)合部位的立體結(jié)構(gòu),，這項(xiàng)成果有望幫助人們開發(fā)抗麻疹病毒新藥。
麻疹病毒表面的“H－蛋白質(zhì)”在病毒感染細(xì)胞時(shí)發(fā)揮著重要作用，這種蛋白質(zhì)和人體細(xì)胞表面的受體“SLAM”蛋白質(zhì)相結(jié)合，相當(dāng)于鑰匙插入鎖孔,。這一結(jié)合開啟了麻疹病毒入侵細(xì)胞的進(jìn)程。
日本九州大學(xué)教授柳雄介的研究小組大量合成上述兩種蛋白質(zhì)結(jié)合形成的復(fù)合體,，并使之結(jié)晶化,。隨后，他們通過X射線分析這種結(jié)晶,，從原子層面探明了其立體結(jié)構(gòu),。研究人員表示，如果能找到具備“堵鎖孔”能力的化合物,，防止“鑰匙插入鎖孔”,，就有望開發(fā)出新的抗麻疹病毒藥物。
嬰幼兒時(shí)期接種疫苗是預(yù)防麻疹的有效方法,，但由于近年來不曾接種疫苗人數(shù)增多或疫苗作用隨接種者年齡增長而下降等原因,，麻疹疫情在世界范圍內(nèi)出現(xiàn)反彈。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology doi:10.1038/nsmb.1969
Structure of the measles virus hemagglutinin bound to its cellular receptor SLAM
Takao Hashiguchi,Toyoyuki Ose,Marie Kubota,Nobuo Maita,Jun Kamishikiryo,Katsumi Maenaka& Yusuke Yanagi
Measles virus, a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide, predominantly infects immune cells using signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) as a cellular receptor. Here we present crystal structures of measles virus hemagglutinin (MV-H), the receptor-binding glycoprotein, in complex with SLAM. The MV-H head domain binds to a β-sheet of the membrane-distal ectodomain of SLAM using the side of its β-propeller fold. This is distinct from attachment proteins of other paramyxoviruses that bind receptors using the top of their β-propeller. The structure provides templates for antiviral drug design, an explanation for the effectiveness of the measles virus vaccine, and a model of the homophilic SLAM-SLAM interaction involved in immune modulations. Notably, the crystal structures obtained show two forms of the MV-H–SLAM tetrameric assembly (dimer of dimers), which may have implications for the mechanism of fusion triggering.
