RESUMEN
The recent sporadic infections of humans in China with previously unrecognized avian influenza A virus of the H7N9 subtype (A(H7N9)) have caused concern. The aim is to find out the epidemiological and molecular analysis of the PB1-F2 proteins in H7N9 influenza viruses, in Jiangsu province. Sequences were obtained from GISAID database. Data were analyzed by using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis software and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method. From March 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014, 53 patients were confirmed to be infected with the H7N9 virus; one was a retrospective case in Jiangsu province. 38 sequences of PB1 in H7N9 of Jiangsu were obtained from the GISAID online and were then divided into three lineages. Of these sequences, 4 sequences and 3 sequences encode an N-terminally truncated PB1-F2 (52aa)polypeptide and C-terminally truncated PB1-F2 (76aa) polypeptide, respectively. The remaining sequences encode a full-length PB1-F2 (90aa). We estimated a mean evolutionary rate of 3.053×10(-3) subs/site/year (95% HPD: 2.021×10(-3)-4.051×10(-3)). The site-by-site analysis of selection pressure analysis revealed positively and negatively (12, 3), respectively, selected sites. Influenza A (H7N9) virus adapting into new host, PB1-F2 of H7N9, might be faced with higher selection pressures.
Asunto(s)
Subtipo H7N9 del Virus de la Influenza A/genética , Proteínas Virales/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Estudios de Cohortes , Femenino , Humanos , Gripe Humana/epidemiología , Gripe Humana/virología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Modelos Estadísticos , Epidemiología Molecular , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Filogenia , Selección Genética , Alineación de Secuencia , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: PB1-F2 protein has been proven to increase the pathogenicity of influenza A virus (IAV) strains in primary infection and in secondary bacterial infection. It can also regulate the activity of viral polymerase. However, it was shown in another retrospective study that a portion of IAVs do not express full-length PB1-F2 protein during virus development; different kinds of stop codons cause exits in the open reading frames and form PB1-F2 gene products with the corresponding genotypes. Truncated PB1-F2 in human H3N2 IAVs has long been detected in North America but its evolution in China is still unclear. METHODS: Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) from the whole of Jiangsu Province were collected and inspected to determine the type and subtype of the viruses. A portion of isolates collected in the epidemic period were selected as samples for later whole-genome sequencing, and the exact sequences were determined and analyzed. RESULTS: H3N2 influenza virus was one of the epidemical strains which had been prevalent during 2009-2010, in Jiangsu. Five H3N2 isolates with truncated PB1-F2 protein (25aa) were detected in influenza samples from Nanjing and Xuzhou, while seven similar H3N2 isolates were also reported in Niigata, Japan. CONCLUSION: This emergence indicates the possibility that there has been transmission of the H3N2 virus between the two countries.