Current knowledge on PB1-F2 of influenza A viruses.
Almost 10 years ago, an eleventh protein of influenza A viruses was discovered in a search for CD8+ T-cell epitopes. This protein was named PB1-F2 since it is encoded in the +1 reading frame of the PB1 gene segment. Various studies have shown that PB1-F2 has a pleiotropic effect: (1) The protein can induce apoptosis in a cell type-dependent manner, (2) PB1-F2 is able to promote inflammation, and (3) finally it up-regulates viral polymerase activity by its interaction with the PB1 subunit. These properties could contribute to an enhanced pathogenicity. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood yet. New data suggest that some effects of PB1-F2 are strain-specific and host-specific.
Department of Virology and Antiviral Therapy, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 2, 07745, Jena, Germany. andi.krumbholz@med.uni-jena.de
Andi
A
Krumbholz
Anja
A
Philipps
Hartmut
H
Oehring
Katja
K
Schwarzer
Annett
A
Eitner
Peter
P
Wutzler
Roland
R
Zell
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; C442816:PB1-F2 protein, Influenza A virus; D014764:Viral Proteins