[Electrophoretic mobility of polypeptides in different strains on human influenza A and B viruses]

The method of electrophoresis in a single polyacrylamide gel plate was used for comparative study on virion polypeptides mobility in human influenza A and B virus strains. Molecular masses of individual polypeptides and their portion in the virion were determined. No variations in the migration speed of nucleoprotein (NP) and membrane protein (MP) were found in strains belonging to the same genus, but there were differences in the migration speed of these proteins in the genus A and genus B. Significant differences in migration and the content of glycoproteins, particularly of the heavy chain of hemagglutinin (HAI) in the genus A strain having different subtypes of hemagglutinin, including strains A/WS/33 (HONI), A/FM/1/47 (HINI), A/Sing/1/57 (H2N2), A/Port Chalmers/73 (H3N2), as well as in the genus B in strains B/Lee/40, B/Yamagata/1/73, and B/Johanesbourg/56. No differences in the mobility of glycoproteins in strains similar in the antigenic specificity of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase were found. On the basis of the comparative analysis of virion polypeptide electrophoregrams, three new strains on influenza A virus isolated in December, 1977, were identified as belonging to the species A (HINI).