Changes to the dynamic nature of hemagglutinin and the emergence of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus

Sun Woo Yoon, Noam Chen, Mariette F. Ducatez, Ryan McBride, Subrata Barman, Thomas P. Fabrizio, Robert G. Webster, Turkan Haliloglu, James C. Paulson, Charles J. Russell, Tomer Hertz, Nir Ben-Tal, Richard J. Webby*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

The virologic factors that limit the transmission of swine influenza viruses between humans are unresolved. While it has been shown that acquisition of the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix (M) gene segments from a Eurasian-lineage swine virus was required for airborne transmission of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus (H1N1pdm09), we show here that an arginine to lysine change in the hemagglutinin (HA) was also necessary. This change at position 149 was distal to the receptor binding site but affected virus-receptor affinity and HA dynamics, allowing the virus to replicate more efficiently in nasal turbinate epithelium and subsequently transmit between ferrets. Receptor affinity should be considered as a factor limiting swine virus spread in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Article number12828
JournalScientific Reports
Volume5
DOIs
StatePublished - 13 Aug 2015

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