The Molecular Basis for Antigenic Drift of Human A/H2N2 Influenza Viruses.

Influenza A/H2N2 viruses caused a pandemic in 1957 and continued to circulate in humans until 1968. The antigenic evolution of A/H2N2 viruses over time and the amino acid substitutions responsible for this antigenic evolution are not known. Here, the antigenic diversity of a representative set of human A/H2N2 viruses isolated between 1957 and 1968 was characterized. The antigenic change of influenza A/H2N2 viruses during the 12 years that this virus circulated was modest. Two amino acid substitutions, T128D and N139K, located in the head domain of the H2 hemagglutinin (HA) molecule, were identified as important determinants of antigenic change during A/H2N2 virus evolution. The rate of A/H2N2 virus antigenic evolution during the 12-year period after introduction in humans was half that of A/H3N2 viruses, despite similar rates of genetic change.IMPORTANCE While influenza A viruses of subtype H2N2 were at the origin of the Asian influenza pandemic, little is known about the antigenic changes that occurred during the twelve years of circulation in humans, the role of preexisting immunity, and the evolutionary rates of the virus. In this study, the antigenic map derived from hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers of cell-cultured virus isolates and ferret postinfection sera displayed a directional evolution of viruses away from earlier isolates. Furthermore, individual mutations in close proximity to the receptor-binding site of the HA molecule determined the antigenic reactivity, confirming that individual amino acid substitutions in A/H2N2 viruses can confer major antigenic changes. This study adds to our understanding of virus evolution with respect to antigenic variability, rates of virus evolution, and potential escape mutants of A/H2N2

In Vitro Reassortment between Endemic H1N2 and 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Swine Influenza Viruses Generates Attenuated Viruses

The pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza virus was first reported in humans in the spring of 2009 and soon thereafter was identified in numerous species, including swine. Reassortant viruses, presumably arising from the co-infection of pH1N1 and endemic swine influenza virus (SIV), were subsequently identified from diagnostic samples collected from swine. In this study, co-infection of swine testicle (ST) cells with swine-derived endemic H1N2 (MN745) and pH1N1 (MN432) yielded two reassortant H1N2 viruses (R1 and R2), both possessing a matrix gene derived from pH1N1. In ST cells, the reassortant viruses had growth kinetics similar to the parental H1N2 virus and reached titers approximately 2 log10 TCID50/mL higher than the pH1N1 virus, while in A549 cells these viruses had similar growth kinetics. Intranasal challenge of pigs with H1N2, pH1N1, R1 or R2 found that all viruses were capable of infecting and transmitting between direct contact pigs as measured by real time reverse transcription PCR of nasal swabs. Lung samples were also PCR-positive for all challenge groups and influenza-associated microscopic lesions were detected by histology. Interestingly, infectious virus was detected in lung samples for pigs challenged with the parental H1N2 and pH1N1 at levels significantly higher than either reassortant virus despite similar levels of viral RNA. Results of our experiment suggested that the reassortant viruses generated through in vitro cell culture system were attenuated without gaining any selective growth advantage in pigs over the parental lineages. Thus, reassortant influenza viruses described in this study may provide a good system to study genetic basis of the attenuation and its mechanism