Stochastic fusion simulations and experiments suggest passive and active roles of hemagglutinin during membrane fusion.

ABSTRACT: Influenza enters the host cell cytoplasm by fusing the viral and host membrane together. Fusion is mediated by hemagglutinin (HA) trimers that undergo conformational change when acidified in the endosome. It is currently debated how many HA trimers, w, and how many conformationally changed HA trimers, q, are minimally required for fusion. Conclusions vary because there are three common approaches for determining w and q from fusion data. One approach correlates the fusion rate with the fraction of fusogenic HA trimers and leads to the conclusion that one HA trimer is required for fusion. A second approach correlates the fusion rate with the total concentration of fusogenic HA trimers and indicates that more than one HA trimer is required. A third approach applies statistical models to fusi

SUBMITTER: Lee DW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3944606 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature