Measles virus phosphoprotein inhibits apoptosis and enhances clonogenic and migratory properties in HeLa cells.

Measles virus is the causative agent of measles, a major cause of child mortality in developing countries. Two major proteins, coded by the viral genome, are nucleocapsid protein (N) and phosphoprotein (P). The N protein protects the viral genomic RNA and forms ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) together with P protein. MeV-P protein recruits the large protein (L), i.e. viral RNA-depended RNA polymerase (RdRp), to ensure viral replication in host cell. Apoptogenic properties of N protein of Edmonston vaccine strain have been established in our lab previously. We investigated the role of MeV-P protein of Edmonston vaccine strain as modulator of apoptosis in cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and found that MeV-P protein is anti-apoptotic and enhances cell proliferation. Measles virus is considered to be innately oncotropic virus. However, the anti-apoptotic property of MeV-P protein raises important concerns while adopting this virus as an anti-cancer therapeutic tool.