Volume 23, No 12, Dec 2013

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 23 Issue 12, December 2013: 1335-1336

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Solving the mystery of H7N9 by crystal balls

Kwok-Yung Yuen¹

¹State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China Correspondence: Kwok-Yung Yuen,(kyyuen@hkucc.hku.hk)

How the novel influenza H7N9 virus crossed species barrier from avian to human is intriguing. Extrapolation from previous studies on H5N1 can be misleading as illustrated by crystallographic studies on the H7 hemagglutinin with G226L substitution; crystal structure of the neuraminidase N9 showed that R294K substitution interferes with binding to sialic acid or antiviral drugs and reduces viral fitness.

10.1038/cr.2013.150

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