1. A multi-center study on genetic variations in the fusion protein of respiratory syncytial virus from children with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in China during 2017-2021
- Author
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Fu, Yiliang, Li, Fei, Zhu, Yun, Huang, Luci, Li, Qiuping, Zhang, Hanwen, Zhong, Lili, Zhang, Hailin, Luo, Zheng-xiu, Lu, Gen, Deng, Jikui, Cao, Lingfeng, Wu, Ying, Jin, Rong, Li, Lei, Xu, Lili, Chen, Xiangpeng, and Xie, Zhengde
- Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in children under five years of age. Between 2017 and 2021, 396 complete sequences of the RSV Fgene were obtained from 500 RSV-positive throat swabs collected from ten hospitals across nine provinces in China. In addition, 151 sequences from China were sourced from GenBank and GISAID, making a total of 549 RSV Fgene sequences subjected to analysis. Phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses revealed that the RSV Fgenes circulating in China from 2017 to 2021 have remained relatively conserved, although some amino acids (AAs) have undergone changes. AA mutations with frequencies ≥ 10% were identified at six sites and the p27 region: V384I (site I), N276S (site II), R213S (site Ø), and K124N (p27) for RSV A; F45L (site I), M152I/L172Q/S173L/I185V/K191R (site V), and R202Q/I206M/Q209R (site Ø) for RSV B. Comparing mutational frequencies in RSV-F before and after 2020 revealed minor changes for RSV A, while the K191R, I206M, and Q209R frequencies increased by over 10% in RSV B. Notably, the nirsevimab-resistant mutation, S211N in RSV B, increased in frequency from 0% to 1.15%. Both representative strains aligned with the predicted RSV-F structures of their respective prototypes exhibited similar conformations, with low root-mean-square deviation values. These results could provide foundational data from China for the development of RSV mAbs and vaccines.
- Published
- 2024
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