Substitutions near the HA receptor binding site explain the origin and major antigenic change of the B/Victoria and B/Yamagata lineages.

ABSTRACT: Influenza B virus primarily infects humans, causing seasonal epidemics globally. Two antigenic variants-Victoria-like and Yamagata-like-were detected in the 1980s, of which the molecular basis of emergence is still incompletely understood. Here, the antigenic properties of a unique collection of historical virus isolates, sampled from 1962 to 2000 and passaged exclusively in mammalian cells to preserve antigenic properties, were determined with the hemagglutination inhibition assay and an antigenic map was built to quantify and visualize the divergence of the lineages. The antigenic map revealed only three distinct antigenic clusters-Early, Victoria, and Yamagata-with relatively little antigenic diversity in each cluster until 2000. Viruses with Victoria-like antigenic properties emerged a

SUBMITTER: Rosu ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9586307 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature