title: Mutations acquired during cell culture isolation may affect antigenic characterisation of influenza A(H3N2) clade 3C.2a viruses.
abstract: As elsewhere, few (< 15%) sentinel influenza A(H3N2) clade 3C.2a viruses that dominated in Canada during the 2014/15 season could be antigenically characterised by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. Clade 3C.2a viruses that could be HI-characterised had acquired genetic mutations during in vitro cell culture isolation that modified the potential glycosylation motif found in original patient specimens and the consensus sequence of circulating viruses at amino acid positions 158-160 of the haemagglutinin protein. Caution is warranted in extrapolating antigenic relatedness based on limited HI findings for clade 3C.2a viruses that continue to circulate globally.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Danuta M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Skowronski
authors.forename: Suzana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabaiduc
authors.forename: Catharine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eshaghi
authors.forename: Jonathan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gubbay
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krajden
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Drews
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martineau
authors.forename: Gaston
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Serres
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.forename: Anne-Luise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bastien
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D006031:Glycosylation; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests / Q000379:methods*; D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012621:Seasons; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D019267:Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: antigenic characterization; genomics; glycosylation; haemagglutination inhibition assay; influenza; influenza virus; influenza-like illness - ILI; vaccine-preventable diseases