Enhanced visualization of influenza A virus entry into living cells using virus-view atomic force microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Influenza A virus (IAV) entry into host cells begins with interactions between the viral envelope proteins hemagglutinin (HA)/neuraminidase (NA) and sialic acid moieties on the cell plasma membrane. These interactions drive IAV's lateral diffusion along the cell membrane and trigger membrane morphological changes required for endocytosis. However, directly visualizing these dynamic processes, which are crucial for IAV entry, has been challenging using conventional microscopy techniques. In this study, we enabled live-cell observation of nanoscale morphological dynamics of IAV and the cell membrane by reducing the mechanical invasiveness of atomic force microscopy (AFM). A customised cantilever with less than half the spring constant of conventional cantilevers enabled virus-view AFM imagin

SUBMITTER: Yoshida A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12478160 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature