Variations in glycosylation of the influenza virus hemagglutinin of subtype H7

Summary The numbers of the carbohydrate side chains have been analyzed on a series of subtype 7 hemagglutinins of influenza A virus. The procedure employed involves growth of the virus in the presence of the trimming inhibitor N-methyl-1-desoxynojirimycin followed by controlled removal of the resulting mannose-rich oligosaccharides with endo-N-acetylglucosaminidase H. By comparative analysis with virus grown in the absence of the inhibitor oligomannosidic side chains can be discriminated from complex ones. The results show that all H7 hemagglutinins have a complex and an oligomannosidic side chain on HA₂, whereas the oligosaccharides of HA₁ vary in number.