Structural highlights
Function
[HEMA_I68A0] Binds to sialic acid-containing receptors on the cell surface, bringing about the attachment of the virus particle to the cell. This attachment induces virion internalization of about two third of the virus particles through clathrin-dependent endocytosis and about one third through a clathrin- and caveolin-independent pathway. Plays a major role in the determination of host range restriction and virulence. Class I viral fusion protein. Responsible for penetration of the virus into the cell cytoplasm by mediating the fusion of the membrane of the endocytosed virus particle with the endosomal membrane. Low pH in endosomes induces an irreversible conformational change in HA2, releasing the fusion hydrophobic peptide. Several trimers are required to form a competent fusion pore.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Vaccines to generate durable humoral immunity against antigenically evolving pathogens such as the influenza virus must elicit antibodies that recognize conserved epitopes. Analysis of single memory B cells from immunized human donors has led us to characterize a previously unrecognized epitope of influenza hemagglutinin (HA) that is immunogenic in humans and conserved among influenza subtypes. Structures show that an unrelated antibody from a participant in an experimental infection protocol recognized the epitope as well. IgGs specific for this antigenic determinant do not block viral infection in vitro, but passive administration to mice affords robust IgG subtype-dependent protection against influenza infection. The epitope, occluded in the pre-fusion form of HA, is at the contact surface between HA head domains; reversible molecular "breathing" of the HA trimer can expose the interface to antibody and B cells. Antigens that present this broadly immunogenic HA epitope may be good candidates for inclusion in "universal" flu vaccines.
Antibodies to a Conserved Influenza Head Interface Epitope Protect by an IgG Subtype-Dependent Mechanism.,Watanabe A, McCarthy KR, Kuraoka M, Schmidt AG, Adachi Y, Onodera T, Tonouchi K, Caradonna TM, Bajic G, Song S, McGee CE, Sempowski GD, Feng F, Urick P, Kepler TB, Takahashi Y, Harrison SC, Kelsoe G Cell. 2019 May 16;177(5):1124-1135.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.048. PMID:31100267[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Watanabe A, McCarthy KR, Kuraoka M, Schmidt AG, Adachi Y, Onodera T, Tonouchi K, Caradonna TM, Bajic G, Song S, McGee CE, Sempowski GD, Feng F, Urick P, Kepler TB, Takahashi Y, Harrison SC, Kelsoe G. Antibodies to a Conserved Influenza Head Interface Epitope Protect by an IgG Subtype-Dependent Mechanism. Cell. 2019 May 16;177(5):1124-1135.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.048. PMID:31100267 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.048
