Determination of antigenicity-altering patches on the major surface protein of human influenza A/H3N2 viruses.

ABSTRACT: Human influenza viruses are rapidly evolving RNA viruses that cause short-term respiratory infections with substantial morbidity and mortality in annual epidemics. Uncovering the general principles of viral coevolution with human hosts is important for pathogen surveillance and vaccine design. Protein regions are an appropriate model for the interactions between two macromolecules, but the currently used epitope definition for the major antigen of influenza viruses, namely hemagglutinin, is very broad. Here, we combined genetic, evolutionary, antigenic, and structural information to determine the most relevant regions of the hemagglutinin of human influenza A/H3N2 viruses for interaction with human immunoglobulins. We estimated the antigenic weights of amino acid changes at individual site

SUBMITTER: Kratsch C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4989879 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature