Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

A Miniaturized Glycan Microarray Assay for Assessing Avidity and Specificity of Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinins
Published on: May 29, 2016
H5N1 receptor specificity as a factor in pandemic risk
James C Paulson1, Robert P de Vries
1Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
The high pathogenicity of H5N1 viruses in sporadic infections of humans has raised concerns for its potential to acquire the ability to transmit between humans and emerge as a highly pathogenic pandemic virus. Because avian and human influenza viruses differ in their specificity for recognition of their host cell receptors, receptor specificity represents one barrier for efficient transmission of avian viruses in human hosts. Over the last century, each influenza virus pandemic has coincided with the emergence of virus with an immunologically distinct hemagglutinin exhibiting a 'human-type' receptor specificity, distinct from that of viruses with the same hemagglutinin circulating in zoonotic species. Recent studies suggest that it is possible for H5N1 to acquire human type receptor specificity, but this has not occurred in nature. This review covers what is known about the molecular basis for the switch between avian and human-type receptor specificity for influenza viruses that have successfully adapted to man, the potential for H5N1 to evolve to human-type receptor specificity and its relevance to pandemic risk.
More Related Videos
08:10Production of High-Titer Infectious Influenza Pseudotyped Particles with Envelope Glycoproteins from Highly Pathogenic H5N1 and Avian H7N9 Viruses
Published on: January 15, 2020
04:47A Method to Assess Fc-mediated Effector Functions Induced by Influenza Hemagglutinin Specific Antibodies
Published on: February 23, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Viral Recombination
Influenza
Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence
Viral Mutations
Leaky Scanning
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs