Replikins are a group of
peptides
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides.
A p ...
, whose increase in concentration in virus or other organism proteins is associated with rapid replication. It is often measured in number of replikins per 100 amino acids. This particular group of peptides have been found to play a significant role in predicting both infectivity and lethality of various viral strains. In particular, this group allowed the prediction of the
A/H1N1
In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the Spanish flu, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus ...
pandemic almost one year before onset.
A method for identifying replikins was patented by Samuel and Elenore S. Bogoch in 2001.
''Replikin peptides and antibodies therefore ''
/ref> The peptide group was first identified by a proprietary company called Replikins, who have trademarked the name "Replikin Count".
See also
*2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
References
External links
Replikins web site
Peptides
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