SELECTION OF RECEPTOR VARIANTS FROM HUMAN AND AVIAN INFLUENZA ISOLATES WITH THE H3 HEMAGGLUTININ

Publisher Summary Structural changes in the hemagglutinin molecule are responsible for their regular occurrence of influenza pandemics. Increasing evidence suggests that new pandemics may originate by the transmission of influenza viruses from lower animals to man either by direct passage or by genetic recombination. As receptor specificity may be one factor relevant to adaptation of influenza viruses from one host to another, it became of interest to develop laboratory models that simulate potential host specified selective pressures that favor growth of one receptor type over another. This chapter discusses a study for the isolation of receptor variants from human and avian influenza isolates bearing the H3 hemagglutinin by two separate approaches: (1) the selection of receptor variants with glycoprotein inhibitors of infection and (2) the selection of receptor variants by adsorption to derivatized erythrocytes.