Pandemic influenza A virus (IAV) outbreaks occur when strains from animal reservoirs acquire the ability to infect and spread among humans. The molecular basis of this species barrier is incompletely understood. Here we combine metabolic pulse labeling and quantitative proteomics to monitor protein synthesis upon infection of human cells with a human- and a bird-adapted IAV strain and observe striking differences in viral protein synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirus infections induce sensitive antiviral responses within the host cell. The RNA helicase retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) is a key sensor of influenza virus RNA that induces the expression of antiviral type I interferons. Recent evidence suggests a complex pattern of RIG-I regulation involving multiple interactions and cellular sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfluenza A virus (IAV) infections are a major cause for respiratory disease in humans, which affects all age groups and contributes substantially to global morbidity and mortality. IAV have a large natural host reservoir in avian species. However, many avian IAV strains lack adaptation to other hosts and hardly propagate in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe influenza virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is a multifunctional virulence factor that plays a crucial role during infection by blocking the innate antiviral immune response of infected cells. In contrast to the well-studied NS1 protein of influenza A virus, knowledge about structure and functions of the influenza B virus homologue B/NS1, which shares less than 25 % sequence identity, is still limited. Here, we report on a reverse genetic analysis to study the role of a highly conserved class II Src homology 3 domain-binding motif matching the consensus PxxPx(K/R) that we identified at positions 122-127 of the B/NS1 protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: During the budding process, influenza A viruses (IAVs) incorporate multiple host cell membrane proteins. However, for most of them, their significance in viral morphogenesis and infectivity remains unknown. We demonstrate here that the expression of annexin V (A5) is upregulated at the cell surface upon IAV infection and that a substantial proportion of the protein is present in lipid rafts, the site of virus budding.
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