In Vivo Efficacy of Measles Virus Fusion Protein-Derived Peptides Is Modulated by the Properties of Self-Assembly and Membrane Residence.

Measles virus (MV) infection causes an acute illness that may be associated with infection of the central nervous system (CNS) and severe neurological disease. No specific treatment is available. We have shown that fusion-inhibitory peptides delivered intranasally provide effective prophylaxis against MV infection. We show here that specific biophysical properties regulate the in vivo efficacy of MV F-derived peptides.