Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
Dissecting the Signaling Pathways Associated with WT-MV/SLAM-Mediated
Binding and Entry in Human Antigen-Presenting Cells
Brittany Havener
Faculty Mentor: Catherine Miller-Hunt
Biology
Measles Virus (MV) is a highly contagious, immunosuppressive virus spread through
moisture droplets in the air. It was attributed to 164,000 deaths in 2008 alone. This is
because there are places where the vaccines may not be readily available, and there
are those who will not vaccinate their children. One reason MV is so contagious is due
to the way in which it infects the body. The droplets are inhaled, and MV starts infecting
antigen-presenting immune cells (APCs) by binding with the SLAMF1 receptor on the
cells’ surface. It then spreads throughout the rest of the body, and then travels back to
the lungs, infecting epithelial cells which shed virus particles into the airway. It then
leaves the body in droplets through a cough or sneeze, enabling its spread.
Many medically important viruses are known to induce host cell signaling pathways,
which are triggered by the virus binding to its receptor, allowing it to replicate and
modify the function of the host cell. Little is known about signaling induced when MV
binds to SLAMF1 during infection. Our hypothesis is that kinases associated with
SLAMF1 signaling are important for MV entry into human APCs. We will use drugs to
inhibit these kinases and see if it affects MV entry. If our hypothesis is correct, then
inhibition of these kinases will inhibit MV entry. If our hypothesis is incorrect, then MV
entry will not be affected. Regardless, our data will further understanding of MV, and
could lead to the development of future therapeutics.