Medical Research Scotland contributes to the discovery of a protein that blocks avian (bird) flu infecting humans July 27, 2023 Dr Simon Swingler, a Medical Research Scotland-funded Daphne Jackson Fellow, working at the MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, was part of a team of researchers who have shed light on how avian (bird) flu strains infect humans by evading a key human defence mechanism, known as BTN3A3. Their work suggests that resistance to BTN3A3 may play a crucial role in determining the potential of flu strains to cause a pandemic. Simon investigated the evolution of BTN3A3 and its anti-avian influenza A virus (IAV) activity, and established that species such as pigs, horses, and dogs, which act as reservoirs (the normal host in which the virus survives) for influenza A viruses, lack a similar BTN protein capable of resisting infection by avian influenza viruses. Infection of these hosts by IAVs from different host species at the same time (co-infection) is an important factor in generating new influenza viruses, which contain different combinations of viral genes. Avian flu viruses which can evade human BTN3A3 can contribute towards viral mixing and increase the likelihood that viruses with genetic combinations which have the potential to cause a human pandemic will arise. Simon is hopeful that this study will bring us a step closer to predicting whether new influenza viruses will be a major public health issue by analysing their genetic code. The work has been published in Nature (2023, Volume 619, 338–347) and features in media reports, including the BBC. See also University of Glasgow News.
