| Title: |
Continued adaptation of A/H2N2 viruses during pandemic circulation in humans |
| Authors: |
Kutter, Jasmin S.; Linster, Martin; de Meulder, Dennis; Bestebroer, Theo M.; Lexmond, Pascal; Rosu, Miruna E.; Richard, Mathilde; de Vries, Robert P.; Fouchier, Ron A.M.; Herfst, Sander; Afd Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery; Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Subject Terms: |
A/H2N2 virus; airborne transmissibility; HA; receptor specificity; stability; Taverne; Virology |
| Description: |
Influenza A viruses of the H2N2 subtype sparked a pandemic in 1957 and circulated in humans until 1968. Because A/H2N2 viruses still circulate in wild birds worldwide and human population immunity is low, the transmissibility of six avian A/H2N2 viruses was investigated in the ferret model. None of the avian A/H2N2 viruses was transmitted between ferrets, suggesting that their pandemic risk may be low. The transmissibility, receptor binding preference and haemagglutinin (HA) stability of human A/H2N2 viruses were also investigated. Human A/H2N2 viruses from 1957 and 1958 bound to human-type α2,6-linked sialic acid receptors, but the 1958 virus had a more stable HA, indicating adaptation to replication and spread in the new host. This increased stability was caused by a previously unknown stability substitution G205S in the 1958 H2N2 HA, which became fixed in A/H2N2 viruses after 1958. Although individual substitutions were identified that affected the HA receptor binding and stability properties, they were not found to have a substantial effect on transmissibility of A/H2N2 viruses via the air in the ferret model. Our data demonstrate that A/H2N2 viruses continued to adapt during the first year of pandemic circulation in humans, similar to what was previously shown for the A/H1N1pdm09 virus. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
0022-1317 |
| Relation: |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/435012 |
| Availability: |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/435012 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.BE22B6ED |
| Database: |
BASE |