Overexpression of the alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase in MDCK cells increases influenza virus sensitivity to neuraminidase inhibitors.

ABSTRACT: No reliable cell culture assay is currently available for monitoring human influenza virus sensitivity to neuraminidase inhibitors (NAI). This can be explained by the observation that because of a low concentration of sialyl-alpha2,6-galactose (Sia[alpha2,6]Gal)-containing virus receptors in conventional cell lines, replication of human virus isolates shows little dependency on viral neuraminidase. To test whether overexpression of Sia(alpha2,6)Gal moieties in cultured cells could make them suitable for testing human influenza virus sensitivity to NAI, we stably transfected MDCK cells with cDNA of human 2,6-sialyltransferase (SIAT1). Transfected cells expressed twofold-higher amounts of 6-linked sialic acids and twofold-lower amounts of 3-linked sialic acids than parent MDCK cells as judge

SUBMITTER: Matrosovich M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC165236 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature