Images in Clinical Medicine
Kim Eagle, M.D., Editor
Influenza A Virus
N Engl J Med 1995; 333:912October 5, 1995
- Article
Figure 1 Virions of influenza A virus (arrows) are seen budding from the surface of kidney cells (K) from rhesus monkeys. In the inset, the dense nucleoprotein core of the virus (arrows) can be distinguished from the lighter fringe of individual hemagglutinin and neuraminidase spikes (arrowheads). The surface hemagglutinin is responsible for two important biologic phenomena. Hemadsorption of guinea-pig erythrocytes (E) onto the surface of the cellular monolayer (K) is an important tool for documenting the presence of virus in cell cultures. Hemagglutination is the aggregation by viral hemagglutinin of adjacent erythrocytes. The aggregates enlarge to form a lattice that becomes visible to the naked eye, providing the primary tool for epidemiologic typing of influenza isolates and the detection of serum antibodies after infection. Antigenic changes in the surface structures, especially the hemagglutinin molecule, render antibodies to viral strains prevalent in previous years less effective. Minor changes (antigenic drift) and especially major changes (antigenic shift) place a population at increased risk of infection. The hemagglutinin also has a critical role in the infectious process itself, because this exposed surface molecule mediates attachment of the virus to respiratory cells, the essential first step in human infection. (×24,000; inset, ×63,000.)
Kim Eagle, M.D.
Washington C. Winn, Jr., M.D.
Fred W. Westenfeld, M.T.(A.S.C.P.), S.M.
University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT 05405- Citing Articles (2)
Citing Articles
1
Gary T Wang. (2002) Recent advances in the discovery and development of anti-influenza drugs. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents 12:6, 845-861
CrossRef2
Nicholas A. Meanwell, Mark Krystal. (1996) Taking aim at a moving target-inhibitors of influenza virus Part 1 : virus adsorption, entry and uncoating. Drug Discovery Today 1:8, 316-324
CrossRef
