Avian flu, 2016 variant mutation close to human receptor binding

Researchers at Utrecht University, Robert de Vries and Geert-Jan Boons, have published two studies in PNAS and Nature, respectively. The initial study demonstrated that a variant of the avian influenza virus, identified in 2016 and no longer in circulation, exhibited a single mutation that rendered it capable of binding to human receptors. While the variant currently in circulation cannot yet bind to human receptors, the discovery demonstrates that certain strains of avian influenza have the potential to jump to humans and trigger a pandemic. De Vries and his research team conducted an examination of two variants of avian influenza, which had been collected in 2016. It was determined that one variant necessitated multiple modifications, while the other required only a single mutation to bind to human receptors. Human receptors are molecules located on the surface of human cells that facilitate the attachment of the virus and subsequent entry into the host cell. In a subsequent study, De Vries, Boons, and colleagues, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Georgia, examined whether the avian influenza variant currently circulating in American cattle could also bind to human receptors. While the results did not align with the researchers’ predictions, the findings underscore the imperative for ongoing monitoring of the evolution of each new variant, as the risk of epidemics that traverse species in European herds is a very tangible possibility.