Emad Mohamed Elgendy

TL;DR: Using reverse genetics, it is found that increases in both human receptor specificity and the HA pH threshold for membrane fusion were necessary to facilitate replication of the virus variants in human airway epithelia and that multiple HA mutations were actually selected in H5N1-infected patients and that H4N1 variants with some of these HA mutations had increased human-type receptor Specificity and increased HA membrane fusion activity.

TL;DR: H5N1 viruses could rapidly acquire multiple polymerase mutations that function cooperatively with PB2-627K in infected patients for optimal human adaptation, highlighting a complicated avian-to-human adaptation pathway of avian influenza viruses.

TL;DR: Investigation of the evolutionary dynamics of H9N2 in the Middle East identified phylogeny-associated PB2 mutations that acted cooperatively to increase H 9N2 replication/transcription in human cells, leading to an expanded viral host range, including to mammals, which may pose public health risks beyond the current outbreaks.

TL;DR: H5N1-H9N2 reassortants could be transmitted efficiently to mammals with significant public health risk if they emerge in Egypt, although the viruses might not emerge frequently in birds.

TL;DR: The results identified several unique mutations responsible for changes in polymerase activity in H5N1 virus strains isolated from infected pigeons, emphasizing the importance of avian influenza surveillance in pigeons and in studying the possible role of pigeon-derived H5n1 viruses in avian flu virus evolution.