title: A dual reporter gene based system to quantitate the cell fusion of avian influenza virus H5N1.
abstract: Membrane fusion is central to the entry of influenza virus into host cells. To quantitatively determine the fusion activity of hemagglutinin (HA) of avian influenza virus H5N1, we established a cell fusion assay based on a dual luciferase reporter gene. The HA fusion activity was assayed by measuring luciferase expression in fused cells, allowing a rapid, sensitive, and quantitative comparison of HA fusion activities at various pHs and in different cells types. The simplicity and the quantitative nature of this novel assay are ideally suited for identifying viral receptors or screening for inhibitors of viral entry in the future.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Virology Research Center, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Huaiyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Baojiang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoxuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Po
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tien
mesh_terms: D002459:Cell Fusion; D002460:Cell Line; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000502:physiology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000502:physiology*; D007668:Kidney / Q000821:virology*; D053585:Virus Attachment