Inactivation mechanisms of influenza A virus under pH conditions encountered in aerosol particles as revealed by whole-virus HDX-MS.

ABSTRACT: Multiple respiratory viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), can be transmitted via expiratory aerosol particles, and aerosol pH was recently identified as a major factor influencing airborne virus infectivity. Indoors, small exhaled aerosols undergo rapid acidification to pH ~4. IAV is known to be sensitive to mildly acidic conditions encountered within host endosomes; however, it is unknown whether the same mechanisms could mediate viral inactivation within the more acidic aerosol micro-environment. Here, we identified that transient exposure to pH 4 caused IAV inactivation by a two-stage process, with an initial sharp decline in infectious titers mainly attributed to premature attainment of the post-fusion conformation of viral protein haemagglutinin (HA). Protein changes were obser

SUBMITTER: David SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10597348 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature