The mechanism of antigenic shift and drift of human influenza virus

Influenza virus has a remarkable ability in escaping host defense mechanisms by altering its the antigenic character. The molecular mechanisms by which viruses alter their antigenic character form an important subject of study since they ultimately control epidemics of influenza. 1) We showed how th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nihon rinshō Vol. 61; no. 11; p. 1897
Main Author:	Nakajima, Katsuhisa
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	Japanese
Published:	Japan 01-11-2003
Subjects:	Amino Acid Sequence - genetics Animals Antigenic Variation Antigens, Viral - genetics Evolution, Molecular Genetic Drift Hemagglutinins, Viral - chemistry Hemagglutinins, Viral - classification Hemagglutinins, Viral - genetics Hemagglutinins, Viral - immunology Humans Influenza A virus - genetics Influenza A virus - immunology Influenza, Human - virology Mutation
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Summary:	Influenza virus has a remarkable ability in escaping host defense mechanisms by altering its the antigenic character. The molecular mechanisms by which viruses alter their antigenic character form an important subject of study since they ultimately control epidemics of influenza. 1) We showed how the 1993/1994 antigenic variant viruses appeared from the 1991 virus by analyzing human sera with a chimeric protein method. 2) We introduced random one-point amino acid changes on the A/Aichi/2/68(A/Aichi/68) HA protein by PCR mutation methods and estimated the viability of the H3HA protein resulting from theses amino acid changes and to determine which changes are allowed during evolution of the H3HA protein.
ISSN:	0047-1852