HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Yamada, A. Articles by Nakajima, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yamada, A. Articles by Nakajima, S. Agricola Articles by Yamada, A. Articles by Nakajima, S.

Epitope Changes on the Haemagglutinin Molecule of Recently Isolated H1N1 Influenza Viruses

Eri Nobusawa^2,

¹ Department of Microbiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamikyo-ku, Kyoto 602
The² Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108
³ Yamagata Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Yamagata 990
and The⁴ Institute of Public Health, Tokyo 108, Japan

We have studied changes of epitopes on the haemagglutinin molecule (HA) of H1N1 influenza viruses isolated between 1977 and 1986. For this purpose monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were raised against the HA of the influenza A/England/333/80 and A/Yamagata/120/86 strain viruses. In order to define the amino acid residues responsible for the change of epitopes, we prepared several HA cDNAs modified by site-directed mutagenesis and cloned them into a simian virus 40 expression vector (SVHA). The substitution of glycine with serine at position 125c (suffix indicates presence in H1 but not in H3 subtype HAs) on the HA of the influenza A/USSR/90/77 strain virus resulted in the loss of epitope 110 (epitopes were named after MAbs) and created new epitopes 139 and 15, which were observed on the HA of A/England/333/80 and a few isolates from 1983. These new epitopes disappeared from the HA in some of the isolates in 1983 and most of the isolates in 1984 and 1986. The disappearance of epitopes 139 and 15 seems to be associated with the loss of epitope W18, which was identified on the HA of A/USSR/90/77. We suggested previously that amino acid residue 189 was involved in epitope W18. We therefore expressed an HA protein with two amino acid substitutions at positions 189 and 125c and found that the conversion of glutamine to lysine at position 189 in SVHA-67 prevented the expression of epitopes 139 and 15.

Present address: The Institute of Public Health, Tokyo 108, Japan.

Received 24 April 1990; accepted 21 September 1990.