Erschienen in:
01.09.2009 | Brief Report
The “human influenza receptor” Neu5Acα2,6Gal is expressed among different taxa of wild birds
verfasst von:
Patrik Ellström, Elsa Jourdain, Oskar Gunnarsson, Jonas Waldenström, Björn Olsen
Erschienen in:
Archives of Virology
|
Ausgabe 9/2009
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Excerpt
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) bind glycoconjugate receptors displaying terminal sialic acids on host cells. The virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein mediates adhesion to the cells via the core structure “Neu5Acα2,3(6)Galβ1,3(4)GlcNAcβ1-” where the linkage between the sialic acid and the galactose can be either α2,3 or α2,6 (reviewed by Suzuki [
22]). Adhesion to these structures is a crucial first step in the infection process, and several studies have shown that the linkage between the sialic acids and the galactose is a strong determinant of virus host range [
3,
22]. However, a switch in receptor tropism from α2,3- to α2,6-sialylated glycans requires only one amino acid substitution in the HA protein (reviewed by Suzuki [
22]). …