N. Naffakh et al., Genetic analysis of the compatibility between polymerase proteins from human and avian strains of influenza A viruses, J GEN VIROL, 81, 2000, pp. 1283-1291
In order to determine how efficiently the polymerase proteins derived from
human and avian influenza A viruses can interact with each other in the con
text of a mammalian cell, a genetic system that allows the in vivo reconsti
tution of active ribonucleoproteins was used, The ability to achieve replic
ation of a viral-like reporter RNA in COS-1 cells was examined with heteros
pecific mixtures of the core proteins (PB1, PB2, PA and NP) from two strain
s of human viruses (A/Puerto Rico/8/34 and A/Victoria/3/75), two strains of
avian viruses (A/Mallard/NY/6750/78 and A/FPV/Rostock/34), and a strain of
avian origin (A/Hong Kong/156/97) that was isolated from the first human c
ase of H5N1 influenza in Hong Kong in 1997, In accordance with published ob
servations on reassortant viruses, PB2 amino acid 627 was identified as a m
ajor determinant of the replication efficiency of heterospecific complexes
in COS-1 cells, Moreover, the results showed that replication of the viral-
like reporter RNA was more efficient when PB2 and NP were both derived from
the same avian or human virus or when PB1 was derived from an avian virus,
whatever the origin of the other proteins, Furthermore, the PB1 and PB2 pr
oteins from the A/Hong-Kong/156/97 virus exhibited intermediate properties
with respect to the corresponding proteins from avian or human influenza vi
ruses, suggesting that some molecular characteristics of PB1 and PB2 protei
ns might at least partially account for the ability of the A/Hong Kong/156/
97 virus to replicate in humans.