Infection kinetics of avian H5N1 influenza viruses in human airway epithelial cells by bio-imaging analysis

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses have spread across Eurasia and into Africa; however, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of H5N1 in humans remains unclear. To identify differences in the mechanisms underlying the tropism of current H5N1 and previous avian influenza virus strains for human lower respiratory tract epithelial cells, we analyzed the infection kinetics of both viruses in epithelial cells using bio-imaging techniques. The results suggest that the pH of endosomes correlates closely with susceptibility to viruses, and that infectivity is dependent on the stability of viral hemagglutinin protein in acidic endosomes.