Emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus PB1-F2 Variants and Their Virulence in BALB/c Mice.

ABSTRACT:

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Influenza A viruses (IAVs) express the PB1-F2 protein from an alternate reading frame within the PB1 gene segment. The roles of PB1-F2 are not well understood but appear to involve modulation of host cell responses. As shown in previous studies, we find that PB1-F2 proteins of mammalian IAVs frequently have premature stop codons that are expected to cause truncations of the protein, whereas avian IAVs usually express a full-length 90-amino-acid PB1-F2. However, in contrast to other avian IAVs, recent isolates of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses had a high proportion of PB1-F2 truncations (15% since 2010; 61% of isolates in 2013) due to several independent mutations that have persisted and expanded in circulating viruses. One natural H5N1 IAV containing a mutated

SUBMITTER: Kamal RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4442455 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature