Heterologous interactions between NS1 proteins from different influenza A virus subtypes/strains

Non-structural protein 1 （NS1） of the influenza virus plays a crucial role in modulating the host immune response and facili- tating virus replication. The formation of a homodimer or an oligomer is necessary for NSI to exert its function efficiently. In the present study, the NS 1 protein from the A/Shantou/602/06（H3N2） virus （herein abbreviated as NS32） was found to interact with NS1 from A/Shantou/169/O6（H1N1）, A/Chicken/Guangdong/1/05（HSN1） and A/Quail/Hong Kong/G1/97（H9N2） （abbre- viated as NS11, NS51 and NS92, respectively） viruses, although NS32 shares 17.4%-20.9% sequence diversity with NS11, NS51 and NS92. This indicates that the heterologous interactions between NS1 proteins from different influenza A virus sub- types/strains may be a common event during co-infection.