A Hong Kong influenza hemagglutinin light chain: amino acid sequence of cyanogen bromide fragment CN2

Antigenicity of Japanese encephalitis virus envelope glycoprotein V3 (E) and its cyanogen bromide cleaved fragments examined by monoclonal antibodies and Western blotting

Purified Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus was solubilized under reducing condition by using 2-merceptoethanol (2 ME) or nonreducing condition without 2 ME and its structural proteins were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE), followed by the Western blotting using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against JE. The mobilities and reactivities against polyclonal antiserum of V3 (E) and V2 (C) were reduced when virion was disrupted under reducing condition. The 54 K band corresponding to V3 was treated with cyanogen bromide (CNBr) and analyzed by the second SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. By Coomassie Blue staining multiple bands of molecular weight ranging from 54 K to 8 K daltons were revealed for CNBr-treated V3. For the specimens disrupted under reducing condition, uncleaved 54 K and cleaved 8 K, 14 K, 45 K, and 48 K bands were reactive by one of the JE and Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) crossreactive monoclonal antibodies (NARMA 16), while other monoclones did not show any reactivity. The uncleaved V 3 prepared under nonreducing condition was reactive with several monoclones to almost similar levels. After CNBr treatment, the antigenic epitope(s) for a flavivirus-common monoclone (NARMA 24) and those for NARMA 16 appeared to locate on different fragments, while the epitopes for other monoclones lost their antigenicities. These results indicate the importance of disulfide bond and highly organized structure to maintain some of the epitopes on V 3.

Amino acid sequence of the Pronase-released heads of neuraminidase subtype N2 from the Asian strain A/Tokyo/3/67 of influenza virus

The amino acid sequence of the Pronase-released heads of neuraminidase subtype N2 from the A/Tokyo/3/67 strain of influenza virus was determined by a combination of peptide and nucleic acid sequence analysis. The results show that the Pronase-released heads contain 396 amino acid residues and extend from residue 74 in the original protein to the C-terminus at residue 469. The heads contain five potential glycosylation sites at asparagine residues 86, 146, 200, 234 and 402, but only the first four are glycosylated. The sequence homology with the corresponding region of the previously published sequence of the neuraminidase subtype N1 [Fields, Winter & Brownlee (1981) Nature (London) 290, 213-217] is 45%. Detailed evidence for the sequence data has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50116 (14 pages) at the British Library Lending Division, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies may be obtained on the terms given in Biochem. J. (1981) 193, 5.

Antigenic determinants of influenza virus hemagglutinin--IX. The carbohydrate side chains from an Asian strain

The heavy chain (HA1) of hemagglutinin from the Asian variant A/Japan/305/57 was examined to establish which of the four oligosaccharide units on this polypeptide could cross-react with host antigen. Cyanogen bromide and enzymic digests were fractionated and the resulting peptides screened for their ability to bind to antibodies raised against uninfected chick chorioallantoic membranes. This 324 residue HA1 polypeptide from the Asian strain A/Japan/305/57 is known to contain oligosaccharide units at asparagine residues 11, 23, 285 and at either 164, 165 or both. The peptides carrying the four carbohydrate units have been isolated, the monosaccharide compositions determined and the location of the fourth oligosaccharide shown to be Asn164 by direct amino acid sequence analysis. All four sugar units on A/Japan/305/57 HA1 are of the N-acetyllactosamine type, but only the one attached to Asn11 could cross-react with anti-(host antigen) antibodies. This antigenic carbohydrate unit on the Asian hemagglutinin heavy chain is located in a similar region to the two antigenically active oligosaccharides located on the hemagglutinin from the Hong Kong variant A/Memphis/102/72. The study was therefore extended to include the early Hong Kong variant A/Aichi/2/68, which has the same oligosaccharide distribution as A/Memphis/102/72 but different sugar compositions for the individual oligosaccharide units Like A/Memphis/102/72, only the N-acetyllactosamine units attached at positions 8 and 22 of A/Aichi/2/68 were capable of binding to anti-(host antigen) IgG. Finally, the light chain (HA2) polypeptides from A/Bel/42 (HO), the A/Japan/305/57 (H2) and the two Hong Kong variants A/Aichi/2/68 (X-31) and A/Memphis/102/72 were also examined and found to contain carbohydrate which is antigenically related to chick embryo host antigen.

Evolution of the Hong Kong influenza A sub-type. Structural relationships between the haemagglutinin from A/duck/Ukraine/1/63 (Hav 7) and the Hong Kong (H3) haemagglutinins

The relationship between the haemagglutinin from the influenza virus A/duck/Ukraine/1/63 (Hav 7) and the human Hong Kong variants (H3) has been investigated. Amino-acid-sequence analysis shows that the Hav 7 haemagglutinin closely resembles the 1968 human H3 haemagglutinin in structure. However, the number of amino-acid-sequence differences (23) suggest that the Hong Kong haemagglutinin gene did not come directly from A/duck/Ukraine/1/63 but from a virus derived from it by antigenic drift during the period 1963-1968.

Amino acid sequence and oligosaccharide distribution of the haemagglutinin from an early Hong Kong influenza virus variant A/Aichi/2/68 (X-31)

The amino acid sequence and oligosaccharide distribution for the haemagglutinin from the early Hong Kong influenza virus A/Aichi/2/68 (X-31) was investigated. The two polypeptide chains, HA1 and HA2, were fragmented by CNBr and enzymic digestion, and the amino acid sequence of each small peptide was deduced by comparing its chromatographic behaviour, electrophoretic mobility, amino acid composition and N-terminus with that of the corresponding peptide of the haemagglutinin of known structure from the influenza-virus variant A/Memphis/102/72. Those peptides in which changes were detected were sequenced fully. The complete amino acid sequence of the haemagglutinin HA1 chain (328 residues) and 188 of the 221 residues of the HA2 chain were established by this approach, and revealed only twelve differences between the amino acid sequences of variant-A/Aichi/68 and -A/Memphis/72 haemagglutinins. These occurred at positions 2, 3, 122, 144, 155, 158, 188, 207, 242 and 275 in the HA1 chain and 150 and 216 in the HA2 chain. The highly aggregated hydrophobic region (residues 180-121) near the C-terminal end of the HA2 chain was not resolved by peptide sequencing. The oligosaccharide distribution in variant-A/Aichi/68 haemagglutinin was identical with that found in that of A/Memphis/72, with sugar units attached at asparagine residues 8, 22 38, 81, 165 and 285 in the HA1 chain and 154 on the HA2 chain. The monosaccharide compositions of the individual carbohydrate units on variant-A/Aichi/68 haemagglutinin differed from those of the corresponding units in variant-A/Memphis/72 haemagglutinin, and evidence was found for heterogeneity in the oligosaccharide units attached at single glycosylation sites.

Carbohydrate composition of the oligosaccharide units of the haemagglutinin from the Hong Kong influenza virus A/Memphis/102/72

The haemagglutinin from the Hong Kong influenza virus A/Memphis/102/72 contains seven oligosaccharide units attached to asparagine residues 8, 22, 38, 81, 165 and 285 in the heavy chain (HA1) and to residue 154 in the light chain (HA2). The single oligosaccharide unit in HA2 and four of the oligosaccharide units of HA1 (at residues 8, 22, 38 and 81) contain the four monosaccharides N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, galactose and fucose and are of the N-acetyllactosamine (or 'complex') type. The two other oligosaccharide units on HA1 are of the oligomannoside (or 'simple') type and contain only two residues of N-acetylglucosamine and five or six residues of mannose. The data are discussed in relation to the differences in the carbohydrate compositions of other influenza haemagglutinins.