title: Host genes and influenza pathogenesis in humans: an emerging paradigm.
abstract: The emergence of the pandemic influenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09 in 2009 and avian influenza virus A(H7N9) in 2013 provided unique opportunities for assessing genetic predispositions to severe disease because many patients did not have any underlying risk factor or neutralizing antibody against these agents, in contrast to seasonal influenza viruses. High-throughput screening platforms and large human or animal databases from international collaborations allow rapid selection of potential candidate genes for confirmatory functional studies. In the last 2 years, at least seven new human susceptibility genes have been identified in genetic association studies. Integration of knowledge from genetic and phenotypic studies is essential to identify important gene targets for treatment and prevention of influenza virus infection.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kelvin Kai-Wang
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: To
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jasper Fuk-Woo
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: kyyuen@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kwok-Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
mesh_terms: D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*