The Carboxyl‐Terminal Sequence of the Heavy Chain of a Hong Kong Influenza Haemagglutinin

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Abstract
The reduced carboxymethylated heavy chain (HA1) of a Hong Kong influenza hemagglutinin (H3) was digested with CNBr to give 5 peptides. The sequences of 3 of these peptides, together with the sequences of 2 methionine overlap peptides were combined to give the C[carboxyl]-terminal 68-residue sequence of the heavy chain. Threonine is the C-terminal residue of the heavy chain, an unexpected result in view of the generation of the heavy and light chains by the proteolytic cleavage of a pro-hemagglutinin during virus assembly. Three half-cystine residues occur close together at positions 24, 48 and 52 residues in from the C-terminus. A carbohydrate group is attached to an asparagine residue 44 residues from the C-terminus; it contains 5 residues mannose and 2 residue glucosamine.