Chen, D., Wei, H., Zhang, Y. et al. Identification of two novel B-cell epitopes targeting the hemagglutinin protein of H9N2 avian influenza virus. Animal Diseases 6, 47 (2026)
H9N2 avian influenza virus (AIV) remains a global threat to poultry health and has zoonotic potential. Antigenic drift in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein complicates vaccine efficacy and diagnostic accuracy, highlighting the need for precise epitope characterization. In this study, the HA protein of H9N2 AIV was expressed in a eukaryotic system, and two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), 9C12 and 9F4, were generated. Both mAbs specifically bound HA, as shown by ELISA, Western blot, and immunofluorescence, but lacked hemagglutination inhibition activity. Epitope mapping revealed two minimal linear epitopes: 123FSSSRSYQ130 within the vestigial esterase domain and 201NLYTRTDTT209 within the receptor-binding domain. Alanine scanning revealed key residues required for antibody binding, whereas structural modeling confirmed that both epitopes are surface exposed. Sequence analysis demonstrated strong conservation across H9N2 strains, with the 9F4 epitope showing near-complete invariance, whereas both epitopes exhibited low conservation among other influenza A virus subtypes. These findings define two novel, nonneutralizing epitopes on H9N2 HA that expand the antigenic map and represent promising targets for subtype-specific diagnostic assays.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Influenza Antibody Levels Associated with Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza in a Test-Negative Study Design, US Flu VE Network, November 2018–May 2019 7 hours ago
- Mapping in-cell protein contact sites reveals hijacking of paraspeckles during influenza A virus infection 8 hours ago
- [preprint]Loss of hemagglutination ability by H3N2 influenza A virus, subclade K 8 hours ago
- [preprint]Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N5 in a Polar Bear and Atlantic Walrus, Svalbard, 2026, with Widespread Seroconversion in Polar Bears 8 hours ago
- Identification of two novel B-cell epitopes targeting the hemagglutinin protein of H9N2 avian influenza virus 8 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


