Cited by 312Influenza Virus Research StudiesVirology and Viral DiseasesViral Infections and Outbreaks Research

The role of receptor binding specificity in interspecies transmission of influenza viruses

Open access
Imai, Masaki, Kawaoka, Yoshihiro·2012·Current Opinion in Virology

Abstract

Influenza A virus infection begins with the binding of the hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein to sialic acid-containing receptors on the surface of the target cell. Avian influenza viruses, including avian H5N1, H7, and H9N2 viruses, can occasionally cross the species barrier and infect humans; however, these viruses do not spread efficiently from person to person, perhaps, partly, owing to differences in the receptor-binding specificities of human and avian influenza viruses. The HAs of avian influenza viruses must adapt to receptors in humans to acquire efficient human-to-human transmissibility. In this review, we discuss the receptor binding specificity of influenza A viruses and its role in interspecies transmission.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.coviro.2012.03.003

Cites

69 of 69 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Typically, the influenza virus binds to α2,6-linked sialic acid and α2,3-linked sialic acid found on epithelial cells of the upper and lower respiratory tract.

    “Typically, the virus binds to α2,6-linked sialic acid and α2,3-linked sialic acid found on epithelial cells of the upper and lower respiratory tract [92].”

    From Viral meningitis: an overview (2021) · cites this paper as [92]

    The receptor-binding specificity section says influenza HA binds sialic-acid-containing glycans on epithelial cells, but distinguishes human strains, which preferentially bind α2,6-linked receptors, from avian strains, which prefer α2,3-linked receptors. It reports predominantly α2,6-linked receptors in the human upper respiratory tract; it does not establish the claimed receptor distribution in the lower respiratory tract. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Imai, M., & Kawaoka, Y.
Affiliations
  • National Institute of Infectious Diseases (JP)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author
Kawaoka, Yoshihiro
Venue
Current Opinion in Virology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-04
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
160-167
ISSN
1879-6257 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1991581164
Cited by
312
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 8
FWCI
4.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Virology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI069274)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Influenza Virus Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Virology and Viral Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
Keywords
influenza A virus, hemagglutinin, receptor specificity, sialic acid receptors, interspecies transmission, avian influenza, H5N1, H7, H9N2, human-to-human transmission, receptor adaptation
MeSH terms
Animals, Birds, Influenza in Birds, Humans, Influenza, Human, Influenza A virus, Protein Binding, Receptors, Virus, Species Specificity

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review