Avian flu: influenza virus receptors in the human airway

Although more than 100 people have been infected by H5N1 influenza A viruses, human-to-human transmission is rare. What are the molecular barriers limiting human-to-human transmission? Here we demonstrate an anatomical difference in the distribution in the human airway of the different binding molecules preferred by the avian and human influenza viruses. The respective molecules are sialic acid linked to galactose by an alpha-2,3 linkage (SAalpha2,3Gal) and by an alpha-2,6 linkage (SAalpha2,6Gal). Our findings may provide a rational explanation for why H5N1 viruses at present rarely infect and spread between humans although they can replicate efficiently in the lungs.     

甲型流感病毒感染BALB/c鼠动物模型的建立

目的:建立甲型流感病毒感染BALB/c鼠动物模型,为研究病毒变异、致病机制及抗病毒药物筛选提供模型动物.方法:通过滴鼻的方法将甲型流感病毒感染到BALB/c鼠,观察小鼠的症状和组织病理改变.结果:BALB/c鼠的临床症状明显,病理变化典型.结论:甲型流感病毒感染BALB/c鼠的疾病模型建成.     

Rapid cloning of high-affinity human monoclonal antibodies against influenza virus

Pre-existing neutralizing antibody provides the first line of defence against pathogens in general. For influenza virus, annual vaccinations are given to maintain protective levels of antibody against the currently circulating strains. Here we report that after booster vaccination there was a rapid and robust influenza-specific IgG+ antibody-secreting plasma cell (ASC) response that peaked at approximately day 7 and accounted for up to 6% of peripheral blood B cells. These ASCs could be distinguished from influenza-specific IgG+ memory B cells that peaked 14-21 days after vaccination and averaged 1% of all B cells. Importantly, as much as 80% of ASCs purified at the peak of the response were influenza specific. This ASC response was characterized by a highly restricted B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoire that in some donors was dominated by only a few B-cell clones. This pauci-clonal response, however, showed extensive intraclonal diversification from accumulated somatic mutations. We used the immunoglobulin variable regions isolated from sorted single ASCs to produce over 50 human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bound to the three influenza vaccine strains with high affinity. This strategy demonstrates that we can generate multiple high-affinity mAbs from humans within a month after vaccination. The panel of influenza-virus-specific human mAbs allowed us to address the issue of original antigenic sin (OAS): the phenomenon where the induced antibody shows higher affinity to a previously encountered influenza virus strain compared with the virus strain present in the vaccine. However, we found that most of the influenza-virus-specific mAbs showed the highest affinity for the current vaccine strain. Thus, OAS does not seem to be a common occurrence in normal, healthy adults receiving influenza vaccination.     

The genomic and epidemiological dynamics of human influenza A virus

The evolutionary interaction between influenza A virus and the human immune system, manifest as 'antigenic drift' of the viral haemagglutinin, is one of the best described patterns in molecular evolution. However, little is known about the genome-scale evolutionary dynamics of this pathogen. Similarly, how genomic processes relate to global influenza epidemiology, in which the A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 subtypes co-circulate, is poorly understood. Here through an analysis of 1,302 complete viral genomes sampled from temperate populations in both hemispheres, we show that the genomic evolution of influenza A virus is characterized by a complex interplay between frequent reassortment and periodic selective sweeps. The A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 subtypes exhibit different evolutionary dynamics, with diverse lineages circulating in A/H1N1, indicative of weaker antigenic drift. These results suggest a sink-source model of viral ecology in which new lineages are seeded from a persistent influenza reservoir, which we hypothesize to be located in the tropics, to sink populations in temperate regions.     

Aberrant innate immune response in lethal infection of macaques with the 1918 influenza virus

The 1918 influenza pandemic was unusually severe, resulting in about 50 million deaths worldwide. The 1918 virus is also highly pathogenic in mice, and studies have identified a multigenic origin of this virulent phenotype in mice. However, these initial characterizations of the 1918 virus did not address the question of its pathogenic potential in primates. Here we demonstrate that the 1918 virus caused a highly pathogenic respiratory infection in a cynomolgus macaque model that culminated in acute respiratory distress and a fatal outcome. Furthermore, infected animals mounted an immune response, characterized by dysregulation of the antiviral response, that was insufficient for protection, indicating that atypical host innate immune responses may contribute to lethality. The ability of influenza viruses to modulate host immune responses, such as that demonstrated for the avian H5N1 influenza viruses, may be a feature shared by the virulent influenza viruses.     

Suppression of in vitro haematopoiesis following human immunodeficiency virus infection

Viral infections are frequently associated with haematological disorders. Abnormalities including leukopenia, anaemia and thrombocytopenia are commonly observed in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or the AIDS-related complex (ARC). The underlying cause of these haematological abnormalities is poorly understood. We report here that bone marrow progenitors isolated from AIDS or ARC patients are responsive to recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (rGM-CSF) and recombinant erythropoietin. Antibodies present in the serum of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), however, could suppress the growth of these progenitors, but not the growth of progenitors from HIV seronegative controls. A component of this immune-mediated suppression appears to be antibodies directed towards the envelope glycoprotein (gp120) of HIV.     

Specific in vitro antibody response to influenza virus by human blood lymphocytes.

Advances in understanding of human immune responses depend, for obvious reasons, on the use of in vitro techniques for culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). We report here that specific antibody responses to influenza virus can readily be obtained using simple, reproducible methods. The system will be useful for the analysis of the cellular requirements for antibody production, the genetics of immune responsiveness and in clinical studies of immunosuppressed and immunodeficient patients.     

Research on viral dynamic models of hepatitis B virus infection

A mathematical model with cytotoxic cells of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is set up based on a basic model of virus dynamics without cytotoxic cells and experimental observation of anti-viral drug therapy for HBV infection patients. A quantitative analysis of dynamic behaviors shows that the model has three kinds of equilibrium points, which represent the patient's complete recovery without immune ability, complete recovery with immune ability, and HBV persistent infection at the end of the treatment with drug lamivudine, respectively. Our model may provide possible quantitative interpretations for the treatments of chronic HBV infections with the drug lamivudine, in particularly explain why the plasma virus of Nowak et al.'s patients turnover the original level after stopping the lamivudine treatment.     

TritonX-100裂解流感病毒的研究

 在流感病毒高浓度条件下,寻找TritonX-100裂解流感病毒的适宜条件.在不同条件下用TritonX-100裂解WHO推荐用2007～2008年度流感病毒疫苗毒株制备的3个亚型的流感病毒,用电镜观察裂解程度,通过蔗糖密度梯度离心纯化抗原后免疫动物,以检测疫苗的免疫效果.结果表明当流感病毒的血凝效价是1:16382,裂解时间为24h时,TritonX-100在质量分数为1%可以完全地裂解B型,质量分数达到2%才可以完全裂解流感病毒H1N1和H3N2,这说明TritonX-100对A,B亚型毒株的裂解效果不同.由于每年都要更换毒株工人生产新的流感疫苗,因此应该对使用TritonX-100的裂解不同亚型的流感病毒条件进行研究,以保证裂解疫苗的质量.