title: Mapping of H3N2 influenza antigenic evolution in China reveals a strategy for vaccine strain recommendation.
abstract: One of the primary efforts in influenza vaccine strain recommendation is to monitor through gene sequencing the viral surface protein haemagglutinin (HA) variants that lead to viral antigenic changes. Here we have developed a computational method, denoted as PREDAC, to predict antigenic clusters of influenza A (H3N2) viruses with high accuracy from viral HA sequences. Application of PREDAC to large-scale HA sequence data of H3N2 viruses isolated from diverse regions of Mainland China identified 17 antigenic clusters that have dominated for at least one season between 1968 and 2010. By tracking the dynamics of the dominant antigenic clusters, we not only find that dominant antigenic clusters change more frequently in China than in the United States/Europe, but also characterize the antigenic patterns of seasonal H3N2 viruses within China. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the coupling of large-scale HA sequencing with PREDAC can significantly improve vaccine strain recommendation for China.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiangjun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Yousong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Aiping
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Weijuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Dayan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuanji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yuelong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.forename: Taijiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000940:Antigenic Variation; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002681:China; D003198:Computer Simulation; D015195:Drug Design; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000821:virology; D018448:Models, Immunological; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus