NIH Researchers Find Role for Soft Palate in Adaptation of Transmissible Influenza Viruses

Wednesday Sept. 23, 2015

NIH Researchers Find Role for Soft Palate in Adaptation of Transmissible Influenza Viruses

National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues identified a previously unappreciated role for the soft palate during research to better understand how influenza (flu) viruses acquire the ability to move efficiently between people. The finding could aid efforts to define the properties governing flu virus transmissibility and predict which viruses are most likely to spark pandemics.

Flu viruses enter cells by binding to sialic acids on surface glycoproteins. In ferrets, pigs, and people, the nasopharyngeal surface of the soft palate contains regions of densely packed long-chain α2,6 sialic acid molecules (shown in green) where influenza viruses with airborne transmissibility can outcompete less transmissible virus. Credit: NIAID.