Seasonal influenza A viruses (IAVs) and influenza B viruses (IBVs) are common causes of human respiratory diseases. Vaccines are the most effective means of preventing influenza infections. However, the protective effects of existing IBV vaccines against mutated strains have not been comprehensively evaluated. In this issue, Zhang et al. systematically analyzed the antigenicity of hemagglutinin protein from circulating B/Victoria and B/Yamagata IBV strains. They found that the recommended IBV vaccine strains showed strong neutralization activity against the epidemic virus strains within the same year. Analyses on mutation sites indicated that key amino acid substitutions, such as R141G, D197N, and R203K, could significantly affect the antigenicity of B/Victoria vaccine strains, highlighting the need for vigilant monitoring. The cover image shows the game between the evolution of influenza virus and the human immune system (Kindly designed and provided by Prof. Weijin Huang). See page 80–91 for details.
Ahmed H. Ghonaim, Sherin R. Rouby, Wedad M. Nageeb, Ashraf Ahmed Elgendy, 徐蓉, 江昌盛, Noha H. Ghonaim, 何启盖, 李文涛. 人类和动物轮状病毒疫苗最新研究进展:探索新前沿[J]. Virologica Sinica, 2025, 40(1): 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.12.001.
Jaemoo Kim, Jungho Kim, Suhyeon Heo, Chang-Hun Yeom, Bao Tuan Duong, Haan Woo Sung, Seon-Ju Yeo, Hyun Park, Haryoung Poo, Jihyun Yang. A low pathogenic avian influenza A/Mallard/South Korea/KNU2019-34/2019 (H1N1) virus has the potential to increase the mammalian pathogenicity[J]. Virologica Sinica, 2025, 40(1): 24-34. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.12.005.
Influenza, a highly contagious respiratory infectious disease caused by an influenza virus, is a threat to public health worldwide. Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have the potential to cause the next pandemic by crossing the species barrier through mutation of viral genome. Here, we investigated the pathogenicity of AIVs obtained from South Korea and Mongolia during 2018–2019 by measuring viral titers in the lungs and extrapulmonary organs of mouse models. In addition, we assessed the pathogenicity of AIVs in ferret models. Moreover, we compared the ability of viruses to replicate in mammalian cells, as well as the receptor-binding preferences of AIV isolates. Genetic analyses were finally performed to identify the genetic relationships and amino acid substitutions between viral proteins during mammalian adaptation. Of the 24 AIV isolates tested, A/Mallard/South Korea/KNU2019-34/2019 (KNU19-34; H1N1) caused severe bodyweight loss and high mortality in mice. The virus replicated in the lungs, kidneys, and heart. Importantly, KNU19-34-infected ferrets showed high viral loads in both nasal washes and lungs. KNU19-34 replicated rapidly in A549 and bound preferentially to human like α2,6-linked sialic acids rather than to avian-like α2,3-linked sialic acids, similar to the pandemic A/California/04/2009 (H1N1) strain. Gene segments of KNU19-34 were distributed in Egypt and Asia lineages from 2015 to 2018, and the virus had several amino acid substitutions compared to H1N1 AIV isolates that were non-pathogenic in mice. Collectively, the data suggest that KNU19-34 has zoonotic potential and the possibility of new mutations responsible for mammalian adaptation.
Oderinde Soji Bamidele, Abdulbasi Bakoji, Samaila Jackson Yaga, Kunle Ijaya, Bukar Mohammed, Ismaila Yunusa Yuguda, Marycelin M. Baba. Zika virus infections and associated risk factors among pregnant women in Gombe, Nigeria[J]. Virologica Sinica, 2025, 40(1): 61-70. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2024.12.008.
In-utero exposure to Zika virus (ZIKV) could lead to miscarriage, preterm birth and congenital Zika syndrome. This study aimed at estimating the burden of ZIKV and Dengue virus (DENV) infections among pregnant women in Bojude, Nigeria. A total of 200 blood samples were collected from pregnant women between February and April 2022. Using the updated CDC guidelines for the diagnosis of ZIKV infections, including ELISA and microneutralization test (MNT), we found that 16.5% of participants were positive for ZIKV IgM, 10% were positive for IgG, and 23% had nAb in their serum. Among the 46 ZIKV nAb-positive women, 52.2% and 10.9% were recent and previous ZIKV infections, respectively, while 6.5% had previous DENV infections. Although no recent DENV infection was detected, recent and previous ZIKV/DENV co-infections were 13.0% and 17.4%, respectively. Two participants had recent secondary ZIKV infections, while 39.1% had prolonged lifelong immunity. Recent ZIKV infection rates were significantly higher among sexually active females aged 20–29 years than other age groups, with the highest risk observed in the first trimester of pregnancy. In addition, the grand-multiparous women are at higher risk of ZIKV infections than other categories. Monotypic recent, secondary and past ZIKV infections, as well as DENV and ZIKV co-infections, were detected in both the asymptomatic and symptomatic pregnant women. These findings highlight that ZIKV infection is prevalent among pregnant women in Nigeria and underscore the associated risk factors, providing evidence-based information on the burden of ZIKV infections in DENV-endemic region.
乙型流感病毒(Influenza B viruses,IBV)主要感染人类,是导致人类呼吸道感染的常见病因。为了系统分析乙型流感病毒血凝素(Hemagglutinin,HA)蛋白的抗原性,本研究从全球流感数据共享倡议(Global Initiative of Sharing All Influenza Data ,GISAID)中筛选出31株B/Victoria和19株B/Yamagata的代表株,并基于水泡性口炎病毒系统构建假病毒。本研究对豚鼠免疫了三针IBV疫苗株疫苗(一针DNA疫苗和两针假病毒疫苗),并检测了针对不同代表株假病毒的中和抗体水平。通过比较不同疫苗株之间的差异,本研究以疫苗株BV-21为基础,构建了几种含有不同突变的假病毒。疫苗株免疫血清对当年流行的代表株有较好的中和水平,中和滴度在370至840之间,而对往年流行代表株的中和水平随着年份的推移下降1-10倍。B/Victoria和B/Yamagata的高频流行株不仅能够诱导出高中和滴度抗体,而且对不同年份的代表株也有广谱中和作用,中和滴度范围为1000-7200。同时,我们发现R141G、D197N和R203K影响了IBV的抗原性。在这项研究中,我们基于假病毒新系统来监测高频流行株和世界卫生组织推荐疫苗株的交叉中和能力。另外,我们还发现了三个严重影响B/Victoria疫苗株抗原性的突变位点。这些突变位点可以为将来选择和设计通用的IBV疫苗株提供一定的参考。