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Article
Open AccessCharacterization of Omicron BA.4.6, XBB, and BQ.1.1 subvariants in hamsters
During the Omicron wave, previous variants such as BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 were replaced by newer variants with additional mutations in the spike protein. These variants, BA.4.6, BQ.1.1, and XBB, have spread in d...
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Article
Open AccessCharacterization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.75 clinical isolates
The prevalence of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 rapidly increased in India and Nepal during the summer of 2022, and spread globally. However, the virological features of BA.2.75 are largely unknown. Here, we ...
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Article
Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 isolates in rodents
The BA.2 sublineage of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has become dominant in most countries around the world; however, the prevalence of BA.4 and BA.5 is increasing rapidly in several regions. BA.2 is less pat...
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Article
Open AccessA broadly protective human monoclonal antibody targeting the sialidase activity of influenza A and B virus neuraminidases
Improved vaccines and antiviral agents that provide better, broader protection against seasonal and emerging influenza viruses are needed. The viral surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) is a primary target ...
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Article
Therapeutic efficacy of monoclonal antibodies and antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 in Syrian hamsters
The spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the major antigen stimulating the host’s protective immune response. Here we assessed the efficacy of therapeutic monoclonal...
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Article
Characterization and antiviral susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2
The recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529 lineage) variants possessing numerous mutations has raised concerns of decreased effectiveness of current vaccines, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and a...
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Article
Open AccessSARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus causes attenuated disease in mice and hamsters
The recent emergence of B.1.1.529, the Omicron variant1,2, has raised concerns of escape from protection by vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. A key test for potential countermeasures against B.1.1.529 is their...
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Article
Influenza A variants with reduced susceptibility to baloxavir isolated from Japanese patients are fit and transmit through respiratory droplets
Here we report the isolation of the influenza A/H1N1 2009 pandemic (A/H1N1pdm) and A/H3N2 viruses carrying an I38T mutation in the polymerase acidic protein—a mutation that confers reduced susceptibility to ba...
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Article
A humanized MDCK cell line for the efficient isolation and propagation of human influenza viruses
Here, we developed hCK, a Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line that expresses high levels of human influenza virus receptors and low levels of avian virus receptors. hCK cells supported human A/H3N2 infl...
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Article
Antigenic drift originating from changes to the lateral surface of the neuraminidase head of influenza A virus
Influenza viruses possess two surface glycoproteins, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase (NA). Although haemagglutinin plays a major role as a protective antigen, immunity to NA also contributes to protection. Th...
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Article
Open AccessDiversity of antigenic mutants of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus escaped from human monoclonal antibodies
Since the 2017 Southern Hemisphere influenza season, the A(H1N1)pdm09-like virus recommended for use in the vaccine was changed because human, but not ferret, sera distinguish A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses isolated aft...
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Article
Open AccessReactivity and sensitivity of commercially available influenza rapid diagnostic tests in Japan
Seasonal influenza virus routinely causes epidemic infections throughout the world. Sporadic infections by H5N1, H5N6, and H7N9 viruses are also reported. To treat patients suffering from such viral infections...
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Article
Characterization of H7N9 influenza A viruses isolated from humans
Here, biological attributes of two early human isolates of the newly emerged H7N9 influenza viruses are characterized: the potential of these viruses to infect and/or transmit within various animal models is d...
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Article
In vitro and in vivo characterization of new swine-origin H1N1 influenza viruses
Analysis of a series of clinical isolates of the swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus reveals that in mammalian models (mice, ferrets and macaques) the current pandemic virus is associated with more severe diseas...
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Article
A comparison of the pathogenicity of avian and swine H5N1 influenza viruses in Indonesia
Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses are circulating in many countries. We recently discovered that these viruses have been transmitted to pigs on multiple occasions in Indonesia. To investigate whet...
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Article
Haemagglutinin mutations responsible for the binding of H5N1 influenza A viruses to human-type receptors
The fact that the H5N1 bird flu virus circulating in Asia, Europe and Africa is unable to attach to human-type cell receptors has helped to prevent it from causing a worldwide epidemic of a human variant of th...
