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Commentary
H1N1 G158E Low
Reactors In Japan Raise Vaccine Concerns
Recombinomics
Commentary 06:58
March 9, 2010
The presence of G158E in both sequences from Japan raises concerns that low reactors are becoming more prevalent. In the two isolates from Germany, the only non-synonymous change is G158E. This change has also been found in two isolates with D225G, one in Italy and one in Russia. Mill Hill has also designated D225G as a low reactor. Moreover, the Yamagata isolate also has D225N, which like D225G has been linked to severe and fatal H1N1 cases.
The release of the sequences from Japan follows the CDC week 8 report on H1N1 in the United States, which increased the number of low reactors reported by the CDC in the US from 2 to 5. The two earlier reactors had changes at the adjacent position, N159D. Moreover, sequences released from the Air Force had N159K and N159S. The three changes at position 159 (N159D, N159K, N159S) as well as G158E all map to the same antigenic site, which is distinct from D225G or D225N, raising concerns of multiple low reactor polymorphisms aggregating via recombination to produce additive effects leading to widespread vaccine failure.
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