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Title: Three mutations switch H7N9 influenza to human-type receptor specificity

Journal Article · · PLoS Pathogens
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [6];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [7]
  1. The Scripps Research Inst., La Jolla, CA (United States); Utrecht Univ. (The Netherlands)
  2. The Scripps Research Inst., La Jolla, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  4. Utrecht Univ. (The Netherlands)
  5. Univ. of Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
  6. Univ. of Amsterdam (The Netherlands); Weil Medical College of Cornell Univ., New York, NY (United States)
  7. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY (United States)

The avian H7N9 influenza outbreak in 2013 resulted from an unprecedented incidence of influenza transmission to humans from infected poultry. The majority of human H7N9 isolates contained a hemagglutinin (HA) mutation (Q226L) that has previously been associated with a switch in receptor specificity from avian-type (NeuAcα2-3Gal) to human-type (NeuAcα2-6Gal), as documented for the avian progenitors of the 1957 (H2N2) and 1968 (H3N2) human influenza pandemic viruses. While this raised concern that the H7N9 virus was adapting to humans, the mutation was not sufficient to switch the receptor specificity of H7N9, and has not resulted in sustained transmission in humans. To determine if the H7 HA was capable of acquiring human-type receptor specificity, we conducted mutation analyses. Remarkably, three amino acid mutations conferred a switch in specificity for human-type receptors that resembled the specificity of the 2009 human H1 pandemic virus, and promoted binding to human trachea epithelial cells.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Inst. of Health; National Center for Research Resources; National Cancer Inst.
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; P41GM103393; P41RR001209; R56 AI11765; GM100058; GM103390; U01-CA207824; AI099274; AI114730; GM62116; Y1-CO-1020; Y1-GM-1104
OSTI ID:
1400283
Journal Information:
PLoS Pathogens, Vol. 13, Issue 6; ISSN 1553-7374
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 67 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Flexibility In Vitro of Amino Acid 226 in the Receptor-Binding Site of an H9 Subtype Influenza A Virus and Its Effect In Vivo on Virus Replication, Tropism, and Transmission journal December 2018
The Drivers of Pathology in Zoonotic Avian Influenza: The Interplay Between Host and Pathogen journal August 2018
Convergent Evolution of Human-Isolated H7N9 Avian Influenza A Viruses journal February 2018
Clinician-initiated research on treating the host response to pandemic influenza journal July 2017
Glycosciences.DB: an annotated data collection linking glycomics and proteomics data (2018 update) journal October 2018
Potent anti-influenza H7 human monoclonal antibody induces separation of hemagglutinin receptor-binding head domains journal February 2019
Evolution of Influenza A Virus by Mutation and Re-Assortment journal August 2017
Low-Fidelity Assembly of Influenza A Virus Promotes Escape from Host Cells journal January 2019
H7N9 Influenza Virus Containing a Polybasic HA Cleavage Site Requires Minimal Host Adaptation to Obtain a Highly Pathogenic Disease Phenotype in Mice journal January 2020
Genesis and Spread of Newly Emerged Highly Pathogenic H7N9 Avian Viruses in Mainland China journal September 2017
A comprehensive comparison of the fifth-wave highly pathogenic and low-pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza viruses reveals potential threat posed by both types of viruses in mammals journal July 2018
Global patterns of avian influenza A (H7): virus evolution and zoonotic threats journal August 2019
Evolutionary consequences of delaying intervention for monkeypox journal October 2022
Identification of two residues within the NS1 of H7N9 influenza A virus that critically affect the protein stability and function journal October 2018
Inventory of molecular markers affecting biological characteristics of avian influenza A viruses journal August 2019
Low-Fidelity Assembly of Influenza A Virus Promotes Escape from Host Cells journal January 2019