Description

This model was created for PathogenAR (https://niaid.github.io/PathogenAR/flu_vaccine.html), an augmented reality program being developed by the Biovisualization Program in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch in the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at NIAID. Influenza Hemagglutinin (HA) is a protein required to infect host cells residing the respiratory tract. It first binds to sialic acid on the surface of target cells, then mediates fusion of the viral and target cell membranes. This results in viral RNA being released into the host cell. An effective vaccine would stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies which bind to the regions of HA responsible for these functions. This model includes antibodies bound to sites in the stem and head regions.