Pari H. Baker, etc.,al. [preprint]Pregnant Dairy Heifers Express Influenza A Virus Receptors in the Mammary Gland. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.08.652757
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus emerged in lactating dairy cattle in March 2024, causing mastitis-related disease and infections in other farm animals and workers. Recent work identified α2,6 and α2,3-linked sialic acids (SA), which serve as influenza virus receptors, in the lactating bovine mammary gland; however, their distribution across stages of mammary growth and development remains unknown. We compared the distribution of tissue sialylation in mammary glands of prepubertal dairy calves, pregnant dairy heifers, and lactating cows. Mammary glands at all physiological stages expressed both α2,6 SA, the preferred receptor linkage for human influenza viruses, and α2,3 SA, the preferred receptor linkage for avian influenza viruses. Importantly, mammary glands of pregnant dairy heifers exhibited the highest overall expression of α2,3 SA, observed in both tissue and alveolar lumens. Our results suggest that pregnant dairy heifers, like lactating dairy cows, are susceptible to H5N1 infection in the mammary gland.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Generation of Nasal Cell-Derived Human Alveolar Organoids and Organoid-Macrophage Assembloids for in Vitro Lung Modeling 4 hours ago
- Determinants of the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Uptake Among People Aged 50 Years or Above During and After the Pandemic: A Systematic Review 16 hours ago
- [preprint]A GIS-based framework for standardized environmental characterization in One-Health surveillance: a case study of HPAI monitoring in wetlands 16 hours ago
- First detection and transatlantic introduction of Influenza A(H3N2) subclade K (J.2.4.1) into Ecuador: insights from genomic sentinel surveillance 16 hours ago
- Assessment of influenza virus and coronavirus tropism, replication competence and disease severity in ex vivo and in vitro cultures of the human respiratory tract 2 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


