Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals.

Host body temperature can define a virus's replicative profile-influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted to 33° to 37°C. In this work, we show that avian-origin PB1 polymerase subunits enable IAV replication at elevated temperatures, including avian-origin PB1s from the 1918, 1957, and 1968 pandemic viruses. Using a model system to ensure biosafety, we show that a small increase in body temperature protects against severe disease in mice and that this protection is overcome by a febrile temperature-resistant PB1. These findings indicate that although elevated temperature itself can be a potent antiviral defense, it may not be effective against all influenza strains. These data inform both the clinical use of antipyretics and IAV surveillance efforts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Apollo (University of Cambridge)
Published
2025-11-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17863/cam.125739
Primary Topic
Influenza Virus Research Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals.

Sam J. Wilson, Digard Paul, Douglas G. Stewart, Gauthier Lieber et al.
Apollo (University of Cambridge)
Influenza Virus Research Studies
article

Avian-origin influenza A viruses tolerate elevated pyrexic temperatures in mammals.

Sam J. Wilson, Digard Paul, Douglas G. Stewart, Gauthier Lieber, Katherine Harcourt, Yingxue Wang, Matthew L. Turnbull, Alfredo Castelló, Katherine Smollett, Darrell R. Kapczynski, Akira J. T. Alexander, Simon Clare, Emma L. Davies, Eleanor R Gaunt, Ervin Fodor, J Kenneth Baillie, Colin Loney, Ana da Silva Filipe, Johanna S Jung, Marko Noerenberg, Sam J Wilson, Rute M Pinto, Edward Hutchinson, Simon Swingler, Paul A Lyons, Stephanie L Williams, Sara Clohisey Hendry, Jeffery K Taubenberger, Kenneth GC Smith, Hui-Min Lee, Spyros Lytras, Joseph Hughes
article en

Abstract

Host body temperature can define a virus's replicative profile-influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted to 33° to 37°C. In this work, we show that avian-origin PB1 polymerase subunits enable IAV replication at elevated temperatures, including avian-origin PB1s from the 1918, 1957, and 1968 pandemic viruses. Using a model system to ensure biosafety, we show that a small increase in body temperature protects against severe disease in mice and that this protection is overcome by a febrile temperature-resistant PB1. These findings indicate that although elevated temperature itself can be a potent antiviral defense, it may not be effective against all influenza strains. These data inform both the clinical use of antipyretics and IAV surveillance efforts.

Apollo (University of Cambridge)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Influenza Virus Research Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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