Effects of Glycosylation on the Properties and Functions of Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin

Abstract excerpt

The influenza virus A hemagglutinin (HA) is a trimeric glycoprotein that contains 3-9 N-linked glycosylation sequons per subunit, depending on the strain. The location of these sites is determined by the nucleotide sequence of the HA gene, and, since the viral genome is replicated by an error-prone RNA polymerase, mutations, which add or remove glycosylation sites, occur at a high frequency. Mutations that are...