Microbiology Seminar

Speaker: Prof. Roberto Cattaneo

Department of Molecular Medicine at Mayo Clinic 

in Rochester, Minnesota 

March 31 (Tue) 2026, 16:00-17:00

Seminar room #5, Faculty of Medicine Experimental Building 13F

Measles virus spreads in the brain by relocating its proteins to neurites and calibrating cell-to-cell fusion

The brains of individuals affected by subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) bear measles virus (MeV) genomes harboring adaptive mutations that functionally change their cell-to-cell transmission. However, the mechanisms supporting MeV lethal brain adaptation remain unclear. We show here that a matrix (M) protein amino acid change acts as a regulatory node controlling the location of the viral membrane fusion apparatus proteins in neurons. Variants of M protein amino acid Phe50, selected in about half of 38 SSPE cases previously examined, either enhance or restrain receptor-independent cell-to-cell fusion. Variants of the cytoplasmic tails of both viral glycoproteins, almost invariably co-selected with M-Phe50 variants in human brains, also calibrate cell fusion function. Calibration is facilitated by the distribution of mutant alleles across co-replicating genome populations. The two principles of lethal MeV brain adaptation, viral protein relocation, and fusion efficiency calibration, may govern neuropathogenesis of other RNA viruses. 

Dr. Roberto Cattaneo (Ph.D.) has been a global leader in measles virus research for many years. Since the early stages of his career, he has elucidated viral mutations associated with persistent infection in the central nervous system (Cell 1988; Cell 1989), and in 2011 he identified the epithelial cell receptor for measles virus (Nature 2011).

In this seminar, he will present his latest findings on the mechanisms of measles virus infection in the central nervous system. We warmly invite many of you to attend.