Measles virus nonstructural C protein modulates viral RNA polymerase activity by interacting with host protein SHCBP1.

Most viruses possess strategies to circumvent host immune responses. The measles virus (MV) nonstructural C protein suppresses the interferon response, thereby allowing efficient viral growth, but its detailed mechanism has been unknown. We identified Shc Src homology 2 domain-binding protein 1 (SHCBP1) as one of the host proteins interacting with the C protein. Knockdown of SHCBP1 using a short-hairpin RNA greatly reduced MV growth. SHCBP1 was found to be required for viral RNA synthesis in the minigenome assay and to bind to the MV phosphoprotein, a subunit of the viral RNA polymerase. A stretch of 12 amino acid residues in the C protein were sufficient for SHCBP1 binding, and the peptide containing these 12 residues could suppress MV RNA synthesis, like the full-length C protein. The central region of SHCBP1 was found to bind to the C protein, as well as the phosphoprotein, but the two viral proteins did not compete for SHCBP1 binding. Our results indicate that the C protein modulates MV RNA polymerase activity by binding to the host protein SHCBP1. SHCBP1 may be exploited as a target of antiviral compounds.