New Hope Against Measles as Japanese Scientists Discover Small Molecule That Blocks Virus Entry
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 05, 2025 1 hour, 54 minutes ago
Medical News: In a major breakthrough that could revolutionize measles treatment, scientists in Japan have identified a powerful new peptide compound that can stop the virus from entering human cells—offering fresh hope for oral medications against this deadly and highly contagious disease.
New Hope Against Measles as Japanese Scientists Discover Small Molecule That Blocks Virus Entry
The research was led by scientists from the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, along with researchers from the Laboratory of Medical Virology at the Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University. Their focus was the fusion protein of the measles virus, known as MeV-F, which plays a vital role in enabling the virus to enter and infect human cells.
Measles, despite the availability of vaccines, still causes thousands of deaths each year, particularly in developing countries. Alarmingly, even in vaccinated populations, immunity can wane over time, leaving individuals susceptible. This
Medical News report covers how the COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted global measles vaccination efforts, further increasing the urgency for effective treatments.
Blocking the Virus from the Inside Out
At the heart of this new development is a modified version of a compound known as FIP, or fusion inhibitor peptide. Originally, FIP had only limited success due to poor absorption in the body. However, by chemically altering the FIP molecule—specifically by replacing a hydrogen atom with fluorine—researchers created a derivative named FIP-F2pF-NH2.
This new version showed a 23-fold improvement in its ability to block measles virus entry into cells, with an IC50 (a measure of its potency) of just 90 nanomolar, compared to 2.1 micromolar for the original FIP. Not only did it bind more strongly to the virus fusion protein, but it also passed through cell membranes far more easily, suggesting it could one day be delivered as a pill instead of an injection.
How the New Peptide Works
When the measles virus tries to infect a cell, its fusion protein (MeV-F) must undergo structural changes that allow it to merge with the host cell’s membrane. The new compound, FIP-F2pF-NH2, fits into a tiny pocket in this protein, stopping these structural changes and preventing the virus from entering the cell altogether. The addition of fluorine atoms increased the strength of this interaction without causing toxicity in laboratory tests.
Moreover, the peptide’s design included a neutral chemical group at the end of the molecule, which greatly enhanced its ability to pass through membranes—one of the major barriers in developing oral drugs.
A Step Closer to Oral Antiviral Pills for Measles
The new compound showed better performance than even previous promising candidates, such as FIP-G3r-NH2. And unlike those older compounds, FIP-F2pF-NH2 showed good passive membrane permeability in lab simulations, which is
a strong sign that it could work as an oral medication.
While this specific compound is tailored to the measles virus, the study also raises the possibility that similar peptides could be designed to target other viruses with similar fusion mechanisms.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: ChemMedChem
https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cmdc.202500532
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/can-sars-cov-2-reactivate-dormant-measles-virus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/measles
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