Newcastle disease virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein (HN)

The Newcastle disease virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein is a multifunctional type II membrane protein essential for the life cycle of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an avian paramyxovirus (UniProt: P04872). It serves three primary roles: mediating viral attachment to sialic acid receptors on host cells, promoting membrane fusion through interaction with the fusion (F) protein, and acting as a neuraminidase to remove sialic acid from progeny virions to prevent clumping (PubMed: 15140982). Beyond its role in avian pathology, the HN protein has gained significant interest in human medicine due to its oncolytic properties. It can selectively induce apoptosis in tumor cells and stimulate a robust anti-tumor immune response by upregulating interferons and activating natural killer cells (PubMed: 24129554). Consequently, it is a primary target for vaccine development in the poultry industry and a key component in the design of recombinant oncolytic viruses for cancer therapy.

Other names

Hemagglutinin-neuraminidaseHN proteinNDV-HNSialidase

The HN protein mediates viral attachment by binding to sialic acid receptors and triggers the fusion (F) protein for viral entry; its neuraminidase activity subsequently facilitates the release of progeny virions by cleaving sialic acid residues (UniProt: P04872; PubMed: 15140982).