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Updated: May 19, 2026

In Vitro Disassembly of Influenza A Virus Capsids by Gradient Centrifugation
Published on: March 27, 2016
Influenza virus binds its host cell using multiple dynamic interactions
Christian Sieben1, Christian Kappel, Rong Zhu
1Department of Biology, Molecular Biophysics, Humboldt University Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Influenza virus belongs to a wide range of enveloped viruses. The major spike protein hemagglutinin binds sialic acid residues of glycoproteins and glycolipids with dissociation constants in the millimolar range [Sauter NK, et al. (1992) Biochemistry 31:9609-9621], indicating a multivalent binding mode. Here, we characterized the attachment of influenza virus to host cell receptors using three independent approaches. Optical tweezers and atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy revealed very low interaction forces. Further, the observation of sequential unbinding events strongly suggests a multivalent binding mode between virus and cell membrane. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal a variety of unbinding pathways that indicate a highly dynamic interaction between HA and its receptor, allowing rationalization of influenza virus-cell binding quantitatively at the molecular level.
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