Article
A two-amino acid change in the hemagglutinin of the 1918 influenza virus abolishes transmission.
Science (New York, N.Y.) - 2 Feb 2007
Tumpey Terrence M, Maines Taronna R, Van Hoeven Neal, Glaser Laurel, Solórzano Alicia, Pappas Claudia, Cox Nancy J, Swayne David E, Palese Peter, Katz Jacqueline M, García-Sastre Adolfo
Abstract excerpt
The 1918 influenza pandemic was a catastrophic series of virus outbreaks that spread across the globe. Here, we show that only a modest change in the 1918 influenza hemagglutinin receptor binding site alters the transmissibility of this pandemic virus. Two amino acid mutations that cause a switch in receptor binding preference from the human alpha-2,6 to the avian alpha-2,3 sialic acid resulted in a virus...
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