Adaptive amino acid substitutions enhance the virulence of an H7N7 avian influenza virus isolated from wild waterfowl in mice

Although H7N7 AIVs primarily circulate in wild waterfowl, documented cases of human infection with H7N7 viruses suggest they may pose a pandemic threat. Here, we generated mouse-adapted variants of a wild waterfowl-origin H7N7 virus to identify adaptive changes that confer enhanced virulence in mammals. The mouse lethal doses (MLD50) of the adapted variants were reduced >5000-fold compared to the parental virus. Mouse-adapted variants viruses displayed enhanced replication in vitro and in vivo, and acquired the ability to replicate in extrapulmonary tissues. These observations suggest that enhanced growth characteristics and modified cell tropism may increase the virulence of H7N7 AIVs in mice. Genomic analysis of the adapted variant viruses revealed amino acid changes in the PB2 (E627K), PB1 (R118I), PA (L550M), HA (G214R), and NA (S372N) proteins. Our results suggest that these amino acid substitutions collaboratively enhance the ability of H7N7 virus to replicate and cause severe disease in mammals.