Mendelian resistance to human norovirus infections

J Le Pendu, N Ruvoën-Clouet, E Kindberg… - Seminars in …, 2006 - Elsevier
J Le Pendu, N Ruvoën-Clouet, E Kindberg, L Svensson
Seminars in immunology, 2006Elsevier
Noroviruses have emerged as a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in humans of all ages.
Despite high infectivity of the virus and lack of long-term immunity, volunteer and authentic
studies has suggested the existence of inherited protective factors. Recent studies have
shown that histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) and in particular secretor status controlled
by the α1, 2fucosyltransferase FUT2 gene determine susceptibility to norovirus infections,
with nonsecretors (FUT2−/−), representing 20% of Europeans, being highly resistant to …
Noroviruses have emerged as a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in humans of all ages. Despite high infectivity of the virus and lack of long-term immunity, volunteer and authentic studies has suggested the existence of inherited protective factors. Recent studies have shown that histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) and in particular secretor status controlled by the α1,2fucosyltransferase FUT2 gene determine susceptibility to norovirus infections, with nonsecretors (FUT2−/−), representing 20% of Europeans, being highly resistant to symptomatic infections with major strains of norovirus. Moreover, the capsid protein from distinct strains shows different HBGA specificities, suggesting a host–pathogen co-evolution driven by carbohydrate–protein interactions.
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