title: Antigenic variation of the human influenza A (H3N2) virus during the 2014-2015 winter season.
abstract: The human influenza A (H3N2) virus dominated the 2014-2015 winter season in many countries and caused massive morbidity and mortality because of its antigenic variation. So far, very little is known about the antigenic patterns of the recent H3N2 virus. By systematically mapping the antigenic relationships of H3N2 strains isolated since 2010, we discovered that two groups with obvious antigenic divergence, named SW13 (A/Switzerland/9715293/2013-like strains) and HK14 (A/Hong Kong/5738/2014-like strains), co-circulated during the 2014-2015 winter season. HK14 group co-circulated with SW13 in Europe and the United States during this season, while there were few strains of HK14 in mainland China, where SW13 has dominated since 2012. Furthermore, we found that substitutions near the receptor-binding site on hemagglutinin played an important role in the antigenic variation of both the groups. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the recent antigenic evolution of H3N2 virus and will aid in the selection of vaccine strains.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: XiYan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Mi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: YanHui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
authors.forename: YouSong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: WeiJuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: MinJu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: HeJiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: JunFeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: DaYan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. wuaiping@moon.ibp.ac.cn.|Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China. wuaiping@moon.ibp.ac.cn.|Suzhou Institute of Systems Medicine, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China. wuaiping@moon.ibp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: AiPing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China. yshu@cnic.org.cn.
authors.forename: YueLong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. taijiao@moon.ibp.ac.cn.|College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China. taijiao@moon.ibp.ac.cn.|Center for Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China. taijiao@moon.ibp.ac.cn.|Suzhou Institute of Systems Medicine, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China. taijiao@moon.ibp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: TaiJiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001665:Binding Sites; D002681:China; D003198:Computer Simulation; D058872:Epidemics; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry; D006031:Glycosylation; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000235:genetics*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012621:Seasons; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D007252:Influenza Vaccines
keywords: H3N2 virus; antigenic evolution; antigenicity; influenza