10th International Influenza Meeting

Session

Session 1: Virus host cell interaction I

Sep 14, 2026, 9:00 AM

Aula (1st floor)

Conveners

Session 1: Virus host cell interaction I

• Linda Brunotte

169. Keynote: MHC-II entry competence as zoonotic trait of influenza A viruses

Silke Stertz (Zurich l Switzerland)

9/14/26, 9:00 AM

Oral presentation

93. Structural and functional analysis of the binding interface of the H18N11 bat Influenza A virus and the proteinaceous receptor MHCII

Peter Reuther (Institute of Virology, University Medical Centre of Freiburg, Germany)

9/14/26, 9:30 AM

Virus host cell interaction

Oral presentation

The discovery of influenza A virus (IAV) subtypes H17N10 and H18N11 in New World bats challenged the paradigm that viral entry depends on hemagglutinin (HA) binding to sialic acid. Instead, these bat IAV use the protein receptor MHC class II (MHCII). MHCII from diverse species, including humans, mediates infection, and conserved residues within MHCII are critical for interaction with H18....

131. MHC‑II functions as pH-dependent membrane fusion switch for bat influenza  A virus

Petr Chlanda (Heidelberg University Hospital)

9/14/26, 9:50 AM

Virus host cell interaction

Oral presentation

Influenza A virus hemagglutinin is a prototypical class I viral fusion protein that binds sialylated glycans and is activated by low pH in endosomes. In contrast, bat-derived IAV subtypes H17N10 and H18N11 use major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) as an entry receptor, but how this receptor contributes to membrane fusion remains unknown. We find that MHC-II-dependent hemagglutinin...

108. Probing an evolutionary bifurcation to host shut-off

Hannah E. Mischo (King's College London)

9/14/26, 10:10 AM

Virus host cell interaction

Oral presentation

To infect its host, influenza A virus (IAV) critically depends on its ability to shut-off host cell gene expression. When infected, host cells activate defence-gene transcription whose protein-products interfere with viral propagation and induce an anti-viral state in neighbouring cells. A major contributor to IAV-induced host-cell shut-off is the non-structural protein 1 (NS1), which...