The overall objective of the work described in this proposal is to determine the molecular basis of antigenic variation in influenza B viruses compared with antigenic drift in influenza A. A detailed understanding of the mechanism(s) of antigenic variation will enable development of effective vaccines to control the disease.
The specific aims are: 1. To determine if the sequences of the hemagglutinin genes of influenza B viruses isolated from human epidemics correlate with their antigenic properties. 2. To determine if the antigenic structure of the influenza B hemagglutinin is different to that of influenza A. 3. To determine if the multiple changes we have found in influenza B hemagglutinin variants are significant in the epidemiology of influenza B. 4. To determine if the differences in antigenicity of the hemagglutinin between influenza A and B also found in the other surface antigen of the virus, the neuraminidase.
| Heimburg-Molinaro, Jamie; Tappert, Mary; Song, Xuezheng et al. (2012) Probing virus-glycan interactions using glycan microarrays. Methods Mol Biol 808:251-67 |
| Gulati, Shelly; Smith, David F; Air, Gillian M (2009) Deletions of neuraminidase and resistance to oseltamivir may be a consequence of restricted receptor specificity in recent H3N2 influenza viruses. Virol J 6:22 |
| Nicholls, John M; Chan, Renee W Y; Russell, Rupert J et al. (2008) Evolving complexities of influenza virus and its receptors. Trends Microbiol 16:149-57 |
