Measles is a highly contagious human disease caused by the measles virus (MeV). In this study, by proteomic analysis, we identified peroxiredoxin 1 (Prdx1) as a host factor that binds to the C-terminal region of the nucleoprotein (N; N TAIL ) of MeV. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) pulldown experiments showed that the Prdx1-binding site overlapped with the MeV phosphoprotein (P)-binding site on N TAIL and that Prdx1 competed for the binding to N TAIL with the P protein, which is a component of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). Furthermore, RNA interference for Prdx1 resulted in a significant reduction in MeV growth in HEK293-SLAM cells. A minigenome assay indicated that Prdx1 suppression affected the viral RNA transcription and/or replication step. Relative quantification of viral RNA by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) showed that Prdx1 suppression not only reduced viral RNA transcription and replication but also enhanced polar attenuation in viral mRNA transcription. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that the binding affinity of Prdx1 to MeV-N was 40-fold lower than that of MeV-P to MeV-N, which suggested that Prdx1 might be involved in the early stage of MeV infection, when the expression level of Prdx1 was much higher than that of MeV-P. Since Prdx1 was expressed abundantly and constitutively in various cells, the results in this study indicate that Prdx1 is one of the inherent host factors implicated in MeV RNA synthesis.Measles is a highly contagious and very serious human disease caused by the measles virus (MeV). MeV infection causes immunosuppression, which induces secondary infection and several complications, such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis. Presently, measles can be prevented by administering live vaccines that are derived mainly from the MeV Edmonston strain (MeV-Ed); however, measles has still been the leading cause of death in children, particularly in developing countries, for the past 40 years (6).MeV is an enveloped virus with a negative single-stranded RNA genome and belongs to the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. MeV is composed of six structural proteins: nucleoprotein (N), phosphoprotein (P), matrix protein (M), fusion protein (F), hemagglutinin protein (H), and large protein (L). Among these structural proteins, the N, P, and L proteins are essential for viral RNA transcription and replication. The L protein exhibits RNA dependent-RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity and forms a complex with the P protein, which acts as a cofactor of RdRp. The N protein consists of two portions: the N-terminal portion, which is termed the core region, is a highly conserved region and is involved in the oligomerization and encapsidation of genomic RNA, and the C-terminal portion, which is termed the tail region, is a relatively variable and disordered region that binds to the P protein. In paramyxoviruses, the N-genomic RNA complex serves as a template for viral RNA transcription and replication by RdRp composed of P and L proteins. During viral RNA synthesis, the P protein binds ...