title: Early detection of influenza A(H5) viruses with affinity for the human sialic acid receptor by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry based mutation detection.
abstract: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) strains have been causing sporadic cases of disease in South East Asia and Africa for many years. These cases are associated with a high fatality rate, and it is feared that the virus could evolve into a strain capable of causing a pandemic. It is likely that a requirement for a A(H5) pandemic to occur is a switch in the receptor affinity of the virus. Candidate mutations in the hemagglutinin glycoprotein have been identified in the literature, and their emergence in circulating viruses would be an ominous development. This study describes a method to identify the presence of these mutations, even within a quasispecies, using RT-PCR followed by in vitro translation and peptide characterization by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Genome Biology Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yea
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCorrister
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Westmacott
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petric
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tellier
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016679:Genome, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C092488:sialic acid receptor