Antibodies to PB1-F2 protein are induced in response to influenza A virus infection

I Krejnusová, H Gocníková, M Bystrická… - Archives of …, 2009 - Springer
I Krejnusová, H Gocníková, M Bystrická, H Blaškovičová, K Poláková, J Yewdell, J Bennink…
Archives of virology, 2009Springer
PB1-F2 is a small influenza A virus (IAV) protein encoded by an alternative (+ 1) reading
frame of the PB1 gene. While dispensable for IAV replication in cultured cells, PB1-F2 has
been implicated in IAV pathogenicity. To better understand PB1-F2 expression in vivo and
its immunogenicity, we analyzed anti-PB1-F2 antibodies (Abs) in sera of mice infected
intranasally (in) with A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus and human acute and convalescent sera
collected from the influenza H3N2 winter 2003–2004 epidemic. We explored a number of …
Abstract
PB1-F2 is a small influenza A virus (IAV) protein encoded by an alternative (+1) reading frame of the PB1 gene. While dispensable for IAV replication in cultured cells, PB1-F2 has been implicated in IAV pathogenicity. To better understand PB1-F2 expression in vivo and its immunogenicity, we analyzed anti-PB1-F2 antibodies (Abs) in sera of mice infected intranasally (i.n.) with A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus and human acute and convalescent sera collected from the influenza H3N2 winter 2003–2004 epidemic. We explored a number of methods for detecting anti-PB1-F2 Abs, finding that PB1-F2-specific Abs could clearly be detected via immunoprecipitation or immunofluorescence assays using both immune mouse and human convalescent sera. Importantly, paired human sera exhibited similar increases in HI titers and PB1-F2-specific Abs. This study indicates that PB1-F2 is expressed in sufficient quantities in mice and humans infected with IAV to elicit an Ab response, supporting the biological relevance of this intriguing accessory protein.
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