# Influenza virus receptors on human airway epithelial cells

> **NIH NIH R01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2021 · $606,233

## Abstract

Influenza virus causes worldwide seasonal infections and occasional pandemics with high mortality rate.
Human viruses are known to have a preference for α2-6 linked sialic acids (NeuAcα2-6Gal), while avian
viruses exhibit a preference for α2-3 linked sialic acids (NeuAcα2-3Gal). This difference in receptor specificity
is widely considered a major species barrier for transmission of avian viruses in the human population.
Although this binary model of receptor specificity has been useful, it belies the true complexity of sialic acid
containing glycans on host cells and has becoming increasingly limiting since the receptor binding properties
of influenza viruses continue to evolve. The use of glycan microarrays with dozens of α2-3 and α2-6 linked
glycans has shown that influenza viruses evolve by restricting their specificity to specific glycans within those
broad groups. However, interpretation of these findings for their relevance to influenza biology is uncertain
since there is little information about the types of glycans that are actually present on human airway
epithelium, and whether relevant airway epithelium glycans are represented on glycan microarrays. This
project aims to identify the glycan structures on human airway epithelial cells that bind human influenza virus
and expand glycan array libraries to include them, 2) to determine how the specificity and activity of human
influenza virus hemagglutinins (HAs) and neuraminidases (NAs) evolve under immune selective pressure to
retain their ability to interact with human airway receptors and 3) to use the information gleaned about
receptor specificity to develop reliable methods for analysis and propagation of influenza in the laboratory.
This information will identify receptor determinants on the human airway that are shared by human influenza
viruses, and shed light on properties of the HA and NA that contribute to pandemic risk of influenza viruses
from avian viruses that occasionally infect humans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10226011
- **Project number:** 5R01AI114730-07
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES C PAULSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $606,233
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-09-03 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10226011

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10226011, Influenza virus receptors on human airway epithelial cells (5R01AI114730-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10226011. Licensed CC0.

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