Pandemic Protein

Picture a pandemic and you may think of smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera and the Black Death. Closer to home, the 2009 influenza pandemic is still fresh in people’s memories – and the H1N1 virus that caused it is still under study. Recently, scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital discovered that in the human viruses, the hemagglutinin protein responsible for fusing the virus to its target cell became more stable in an acidic environment than it was in earlier swine viruses (1) – exactly the property needed for airborne human-to-human transmission. They also demonstrated that when the protein was mutated to increase its activation pH, it lost the ability to spread via airborne particles. We spoke with Charles Russell, who led the project, to find out more.

The team at St. Jude Children‘s Research Hospital led by Charles Russell.

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References

1. M Russier et al., “Molecular requirements for a pandemic influenza virus: an acid-stable hemagglutinin protein”, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, [Epub ahead of print] (2016). PMID: 26811446.

About the Author(s)

Michael Schubert

While obtaining degrees in biology from the University of Alberta and biochemistry from Penn State College of Medicine, I worked as a freelance science and medical writer. I was able to hone my skills in research, presentation and scientific writing by assembling grants and journal articles, speaking at international conferences, and consulting on topics ranging from medical education to comic book science. As much as I’ve enjoyed designing new bacteria and plausible superheroes, though, I’m more pleased than ever to be at Texere, using my writing and editing skills to create great content for a professional audience.

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