Japanese team identifies Nectin-4 as rubella virus receptor in human cell culture experiments

A Japanese research team has identified a cell-surface receptor protein that binds the rubella virus and lets it enter human airway and placental cells, Jiji Press reported via adnkronos.com on Nov. 11. The team from the Japan Institute for Health Security, Tohoku University and other institutions named the protein Nectin-4 adnkronos.comadnkronos.comadnkronos.comOpen source ↗. The findings were published in an online edition of the British journal Nature.

Nectin-4 typically helps cells adhere to one another and is also recognized as a receptor for the measles virus. The researchers narrowed down a list of candidate receptors by genetic manipulation, using a rubella pseudovirus and human cultured cells. Nectin-4 was then confirmed in human respiratory epithelial cells and in fetal-side placental cells.

Rubella spreads through respiratory droplets or direct contact. Primary symptoms include fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes. If an infected pregnant woman transmits the virus to her unborn child, it can lead to congenital rubella syndrome, with hearing loss, cataracts and heart disease in affected children.

Rubella vaccines are widely available. The team hopes that identifying the main receptor will aid the development of antiviral drugs and infection prevention methods adnkronos.comadnkronos.comadnkronos.comOpen source ↗.