Professional Documents
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Chemistry of Life
Cover art from “The Pig and the whale” by Bill Dahlin and illustrated by Cedric Honhnstadt
Influenza
Learning Objectives
Influenza as an exemplar of molecular recognition
• Explain how molecule recognition determines the
emergence and host range of viral diseases
• Describe the role of neuraminidase and hemagglutinin
surface proteins in the influenza life cycle
• Explain the role of domesticated animals in the spread
of influenza and why it is difficult for humans to be
infected by wild bird influenza strains
• Apply the concepts learned previously (e.g. weak
interactions, bond polarity, electronegativity) to explain
the sialic acid cleavage mechanism of influenza
neuraminidase or ANY simple enzymatic reaction you
are presented with
Viral emergence in stages
1 2 3 4 5
• Land use/encroachment
• Domestication
• Farming practices
MERS SARS
2012 2002
• Trade/Travel/tourism
• Consumption/ “bush meat”
• Climate
• Population changes
Intermediate Hosts
SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A
SARS-CoV-2
Influenza
?
?
?
bat pangolin +
• INFECTED ~1 billion
• DEATHS 290,000 – 650,000
• FATALITY % Below 0.01
• ORIGINS & HOST RANGE:
o Wild bird source
o Animal domestication
OR maybe this toad? o Mutation
(Toady McBatface) o Recombination
Host cell recognition
Influenza A SARS-CoV-2
Neuraminidase
molecular recognition
of sialic acid + cleavage
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00186214
SELF-LEARNING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Omi0IPkNpY
Sialic acid recognition/cleavage
neuraminidase
BIRD? HUMAN?
Public Health Message
BIRD SARS-CoV-2
α-2,3-SA receptors
40°C
39°C
swine
viruses
bird
viruses
human
viruses
33°C
α-2,6-SA receptors
α-2,3-SA receptors
37°C
PANDEMIC - Pigs as mixing
vessels
Public Health Warning
or bats
or pangolins
Cleavage Mechanism – molecular recognition
by neuraminidase and catalysis
BINDING
Can you break this
mechanism down into
parts and understand the
catalysis using the
concepts of
intermolecular
interactions, polarity
and partial charge?
CLEAVAGE
• Snot sampling by
remote control
helicopter
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
iaFAPybD0M)
Saving the whales!
• Findings – whales have picked up
human flu from whale watching
activities!
• Note to self:
–to save the whales don’t
sneeze down whale blow
holes
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