Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2013, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (5): 934-940.doi: 10.1007/s40242-013-3200-x

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Phylogenetic and Structural Analysis of Major Surface Proteins Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase of Novel Avian Influenza Virus A H7N9 from Chinese Patient

YUAN Xiao-hui1,2, WANG Ying-chen1, QU Zhang-yi1, REN Jia-yi2, WU Xiao-min3, WANG Jing-fei4   

  1. 1. Department of Microbiology, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, P. R. China;
    2. Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100176, P. R. China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Resource and Plant Biology of Anhui Province, College of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, P. R. China;
    4. Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150081, P. R. China
  • Received:2013-05-03 Revised:2013-05-17 Online:2013-10-01 Published:2013-09-17
  • Contact: QU Zhang-yi, WANG Ying-chen E-mail:qurainbow@126.com;dino1987@163.com
  • Supported by:

    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81172725, 30271175).

Abstract:

This research reveals the phylogenetic history and structural information of the hemagglutinin(HA) and neuraminidase(NA) from novel avian influenza virus A/Hangzhou/1/2013(H7N9_2013) strain from human infected in China. Strains closely related to the H7N9_2013 strain were obtained from Nation Center for Biotechnology Information(USA)-basic local alignment search tool(NCBI-BLAST) searching, and the phylogenetic trees were constructed. The 3D structures of HA and NA from H7N9_2013 strain were built by homology modeling technology, and molecular dynamics(MD) simulations were performed on the high-performance computer cluster. Characteristic amino acid sites were then screened from multiple sequence alignment(MSA) via home-made Python script and mapped onto the 3D structures. The thermodynamic characteristic root-mean-square-fluctuation (RMSF) of these sites in the structure was also analyzed with MD trajectories. The HA of H7N9_2013 strain is closely related to the A/duck/Zhejiang/12/2011 strain isolated in China, while the NA of H7N9_2013 strain is mostly related to the A/mallard/Czech Republic/13438-29K/2010 strain isolated in Europe. The 3D structures of HA and NA from H7N9_2013 stain are mostly identical to the existing structure of H7 and N9. A total of 11 and 14 characteristic amino acid sites were identified in HA and NA, respectively, in H7N9_2013. Structural analysis indicates that certain sites in the top region of HA are important, at which the mutation of some amino acids can impact the receptor bin-ding that may be related to its infection of human beings.

Key words: Avian influenza virus, Hemagglutinin, Neuraminidase, Homology modeling, Phylogenetic