Abstract:

     Hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) are glycoproteins encoded by several types of viral particles.   Most notably, they exercise complementary chemical functions during infection and propagation of influenza A:  infection of a host is initiated by HA while NA catalyzes the release of newly-made viral particles. The antibodies of the molecules form the means of classifying the influenza A subtypes: H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, etc.. Given the risks of viral exposure to global host populations, intense effort is directed toward understanding the molecular mechanisms. Further, the design and formulation of drugs which subvert the mechanisms are on-going challenges.  This research focuses on the primary structure information expressed by the two proteins, applying an information theoretic model from previous research.   The amino acid sequences for HA and NA such as MKARLLILLCALSATD….. and MNPNQKIITIGSICMAI……  are parsed for their correlated information, both the total accumulation and fluctuations.   Data for the HA and NA of multiple influenza A subtypes are illustrated via information signatures and phase plots. This enables sharp contrasts to be drawn between seasonal infectious proteins and ones with high pandemic potential.    Overall, the analysis illuminates new ways of evaluating HA and NA molecules for their subtype and virulence based on information properties.  Just as important, the results point to mutation strategies for re-directing and attenuating the protein functions.