Genetic determinants of receptor-binding preference and zoonotic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses
Receptor recognition and binding is the first step of viral infection and a key determinant of host specificity.
Abstract
Receptor recognition and binding is the first step of viral infection and a key determinant of host specificity. The inability of avian influenza viruses to effectively bind human-like sialylated receptors is a major impediment to their efficient transmission in humans and pandemic capacity. Influenza H9N2 viruses are endemic in poultry across Asia and parts of Africa, where they occasionally infect humans and are therefore considered viruses with zoonotic potential. We previously described H9N2 viruses, including several isolated from human zoonotic cases, which showed a preference for human-like receptors. Here, we take a mutagenesis approach, making viruses with single or multiple substitutions in H9 hemagglutinin and testing binding to avian and human receptor analogues using biolayer interferometry
This is a publication arising from the Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) programme
Citation
Peacock T, Sealy J, Harvey W, Benton D, Reeve R, Iqbal M (2020). Genetic determinants of receptor-binding preference and zoonotic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses. J Virol. 95:e01651-20