Effect of measles virus (MV) on mitochondrial respiration.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Studies of interaction between viruses and mitochondria have shown that viruses can affect the mitochondria. Also linkage between human diseases and mitochondrial dysfunction has been revealed. We studied the effect of measles virus (MV) on cell respiration in MV infected Hela cells to see any possible changes in mitochondrial respiration. METHODS Total cell respiration (TCR) of MV infected (10 pfu/cell) HeLa cells was measured using oxygen electrode (OE). Cell lines were grown in growth medium. Virus titration was done in VERO cell line using plaque assay method. RESULTS TCR of HeLa cells was not significantly changed post MV infection and was similar to most infected cells. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION Infection with measles virus did not reveal any significant effect on mitochondrial respiration in HeLa cells. Further studies need to be done using advanced techniques to throw more light on this aspect.