Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 50274

Special Issue Editors

Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie et Immunologie Nantes-Angers, INSERM, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Clinical Chemistry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Bruna Stråket 16, Gothenburg, Sweden

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The importance of the involvement of glycans in the process of viral infections has for a long time been underestimated. Yet, over the past two decades, we have witnessed an amazing number of new discoveries that clearly allow us to position glycans at the heart of host–virus interactions. This was made possible by impressive technological advances in glycan and glycoprotein structural analyses, as well as in cellular and molecular biology. We have uncovered the roles that glycans play in a large array of viruses and hosts, including enveloped and nonenveloped viruses, ranging from small RNA viruses to large DNA viruses that infect prokaryotes and all kinds of eukaryotes, such as plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate eukaryotes. Glycans appear to control infection in many ways. They can be used by viruses as attachment factors and entry receptors, they can facilitate entry mediated by protein receptors, and they can contribute to virus species specificity or to tissue specificity. They also appear to be of utmost importance to controlling anti-viral immune responses. Recognition of viral glycans by lectins of the innate immune system can lead to efficient anti-viral responses or, inversely, to immune escape and viral dissemination. They can also be targets of adaptive immune responses. For all these reasons, glycans play key roles in processes of host–pathogen co-evolution and show great potential in the development of anti-viral therapies.

In this Special Issue of Viruses, we aim to discuss the recent developments in all aspects of “glycovirology”. These may range from the molecular level to the level of population dynamics, passing through cellular and tissue aspects, including the host immune response. We expect glycan-derived intervention approaches to also generate much interest in these times when the lack of efficient anti-viral prophylactic and therapeutic means is sorely being felt. We cordially invite you to contribute with your most recent research findings and/or insights into this topic. We welcome reviews as well as original research articles, including technical aspects.

Prof. Dr. Jacques Le Pendu
Prof. Dr. Göran Larson
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 3702 KiB  
Article
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Mucin-Like Glycoprotein mgG Promotes Virus Release from the Surface of Infected Cells
by Edward Trybala, Nadia Peerboom, Beata Adamiak, Malgorzata Krzyzowska, Jan-Åke Liljeqvist, Marta Bally and Tomas Bergström
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050887 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2917
Abstract
The contribution of virus components to liberation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) progeny virions from the surface of infected cells is poorly understood. We report that the HSV-2 mutant deficient in the expression of a mucin-like membrane-associated glycoprotein G (mgG) exhibited [...] Read more.
The contribution of virus components to liberation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) progeny virions from the surface of infected cells is poorly understood. We report that the HSV-2 mutant deficient in the expression of a mucin-like membrane-associated glycoprotein G (mgG) exhibited defect in the release of progeny virions from infected cells manifested by ~2 orders of magnitude decreased amount of infectious virus in a culture medium as compared to native HSV-2. Electron microscopy revealed that the mgG deficient virions were produced in infected cells and present at the cell surface. These virions could be forcibly liberated to a nearly native HSV-2 level by the treatment of cells with glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-mimicking oligosaccharides. Comparative assessment of the interaction of mutant and native virions with surface-immobilized chondroitin sulfate GAG chains revealed that while the mutant virions associated with GAGs ~fourfold more extensively, the lateral mobility of bound virions was much poorer than that of native virions. These data indicate that the mgG of HSV-2 balances the virus interaction with GAG chains, a feature critical to prevent trapping of the progeny virions at the surface of infected cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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14 pages, 2237 KiB  
Article
Site-Specific O-Glycosylation Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Produced in Insect and Human Cells
by Ieva Bagdonaite, Andrew J. Thompson, Xiaoning Wang, Max Søgaard, Cyrielle Fougeroux, Martin Frank, Jolene K. Diedrich, John R. Yates III, Ali Salanti, Sergey Y. Vakhrushev, James C. Paulson and Hans H. Wandall
Viruses 2021, 13(4), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13040551 - 25 Mar 2021
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5949
Abstract
Enveloped viruses hijack not only the host translation processes, but also its glycosylation machinery, and to a variable extent cover viral surface proteins with tolerogenic host-like structures. SARS-CoV-2 surface protein S presents as a trimer on the viral surface and is covered by [...] Read more.
Enveloped viruses hijack not only the host translation processes, but also its glycosylation machinery, and to a variable extent cover viral surface proteins with tolerogenic host-like structures. SARS-CoV-2 surface protein S presents as a trimer on the viral surface and is covered by a dense shield of N-linked glycans, and a few O-glycosites have been reported. The location of O-glycans is controlled by a large family of initiating enzymes with variable expression in cells and tissues and hence is difficult to predict. Here, we used our well-established O-glycoproteomic workflows to map the precise positions of O-linked glycosylation sites on three different entities of protein S—insect cell or human cell-produced ectodomains, or insect cell derived receptor binding domain (RBD). In total 25 O-glycosites were identified, with similar patterns in the two ectodomains of different cell origin, and a distinct pattern of the monomeric RBD. Strikingly, 16 out of 25 O-glycosites were located within three amino acids from known N-glycosites. However, O-glycosylation was primarily found on peptides that were unoccupied by N-glycans, and otherwise had low overall occupancy. This suggests possible complementary functions of O-glycans in immune shielding and negligible effects of O-glycosylation on subunit vaccine design for SARS-CoV-2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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18 pages, 3263 KiB  
Article
NMR Experiments Shed New Light on Glycan Recognition by Human and Murine Norovirus Capsid Proteins
by Robert Creutznacher, Thorben Maass, Patrick Ogrissek, Georg Wallmann, Clara Feldmann, Hannelore Peters, Marit Lingemann, Stefan Taube, Thomas Peters and Alvaro Mallagaray
Viruses 2021, 13(3), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13030416 - 05 Mar 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2816
Abstract
Glycan–protein interactions are highly specific yet transient, rendering glycans ideal recognition signals in a variety of biological processes. In human norovirus (HuNoV) infection, histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) play an essential but poorly understood role. For murine norovirus infection (MNV), sialylated glycolipids or glycoproteins [...] Read more.
Glycan–protein interactions are highly specific yet transient, rendering glycans ideal recognition signals in a variety of biological processes. In human norovirus (HuNoV) infection, histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) play an essential but poorly understood role. For murine norovirus infection (MNV), sialylated glycolipids or glycoproteins appear to be important. It has also been suggested that HuNoV capsid proteins bind to sialylated ganglioside head groups. Here, we study the binding of HBGAs and sialoglycans to HuNoV and MNV capsid proteins using NMR experiments. Surprisingly, the experiments show that none of the norovirus P-domains bind to sialoglycans. Notably, MNV P-domains do not bind to any of the glycans studied, and MNV-1 infection of cells deficient in surface sialoglycans shows no significant difference compared to cells expressing respective glycans. These findings redefine glycan recognition by noroviruses, challenging present models of infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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14 pages, 3372 KiB  
Article
Chlorovirus PBCV-1 Multidomain Protein A111/114R Has Three Glycosyltransferase Functions Involved in the Synthesis of Atypical N-Glycans
by Eric Noel, Anna Notaro, Immacolata Speciale, Garry A. Duncan, Cristina De Castro and James L. Van Etten
Viruses 2021, 13(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13010087 - 10 Jan 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2189
Abstract
The structures of the four N-linked glycans from the prototype chlorovirus PBCV-1 major capsid protein do not resemble any other glycans in the three domains of life. All known chloroviruses and antigenic variants (or mutants) share a unique conserved central glycan core [...] Read more.
The structures of the four N-linked glycans from the prototype chlorovirus PBCV-1 major capsid protein do not resemble any other glycans in the three domains of life. All known chloroviruses and antigenic variants (or mutants) share a unique conserved central glycan core consisting of five sugars, except for antigenic mutant virus P1L6, which has four of the five sugars. A combination of genetic and structural analyses indicates that the protein coded by PBCV-1 gene a111/114r, conserved in all chloroviruses, is a glycosyltransferase with three putative domains of approximately 300 amino acids each. Here, in addition to in silico sequence analysis and protein modeling, we measured the hydrolytic activity of protein A111/114R. The results suggest that domain 1 is a galactosyltransferase, domain 2 is a xylosyltransferase and domain 3 is a fucosyltransferase. Thus, A111/114R is the protein likely responsible for the attachment of three of the five conserved residues of the core region of this complex glycan, and, if biochemically corroborated, it would be the second three-domain protein coded by PBCV-1 that is involved in glycan synthesis. Importantly, these findings provide additional support that the chloroviruses do not use the canonical host endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi glycosylation pathway to glycosylate their glycoproteins; instead, they perform glycosylation independent of cellular organelles using virus-encoded enzymes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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15 pages, 4325 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Analysis of Respiratory Tissue and Cell Line Models to Examine Glycosylation Machinery during SARS-CoV-2 Infection
by Anup Oommen, Stephen Cunningham and Lokesh Joshi
Viruses 2021, 13(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13010082 - 08 Jan 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2803
Abstract
Glycosylation, being the most abundant post-translational modification, plays a profound role affecting expression, localization and function of proteins and macromolecules in immune response to infection. Presented are the findings of a transcriptomic analysis performed using high-throughput functional genomics data from public repository to [...] Read more.
Glycosylation, being the most abundant post-translational modification, plays a profound role affecting expression, localization and function of proteins and macromolecules in immune response to infection. Presented are the findings of a transcriptomic analysis performed using high-throughput functional genomics data from public repository to examine the altered transcription of the human glycosylation machinery in response to SARS-CoV-2 stimulus and infection. In addition to the conventional in silico functional enrichment analysis methods we also present results from the manual analysis of biomedical literature databases to bring about the biological significance of glycans and glycan-binding proteins in modulating the host immune response during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our analysis revealed key immunomodulatory lectins, proteoglycans and glycan epitopes implicated in exerting both negative and positive downstream inflammatory signaling pathways, in addition to its vital role as adhesion receptors for SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. A hypothetical correlation of the differentially expressed human glycogenes with the altered host inflammatory response and the cytokine storm-generated in response to SARS-CoV-2 pathogen is proposed. These markers can provide novel insights into the diverse roles and functioning of glycosylation pathways modulated by SARS-CoV-2, provide avenues of stratification, treatment, and targeted approaches for COVID-19 immunity and other viral infectious agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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15 pages, 31188 KiB  
Article
A Nanoparticle-Based Trivalent Vaccine Targeting the Glycan Binding VP8* Domains of Rotaviruses
by Ming Xia, Pengwei Huang, Xi Jiang and Ming Tan
Viruses 2021, 13(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13010072 - 06 Jan 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2472
Abstract
Rotavirus causes severe gastroenteritis in children. Although vaccines are implemented, rotavirus-related diarrhea still claims ~200,000 lives annually worldwide, mainly in low-income settings, pointing to a need for improved vaccine tactics. To meet such a public health need, a P24-VP8* nanoparticle displaying [...] Read more.
Rotavirus causes severe gastroenteritis in children. Although vaccines are implemented, rotavirus-related diarrhea still claims ~200,000 lives annually worldwide, mainly in low-income settings, pointing to a need for improved vaccine tactics. To meet such a public health need, a P24-VP8* nanoparticle displaying the glycan-binding VP8* domains, the major neutralizing antigens of rotavirus, was generated as a new type of rotavirus vaccine. We reported here our development of a P24-VP8* nanoparticle-based trivalent vaccine. First, we established a method to produce tag-free P24-VP8* nanoparticles presenting the VP8*s of P[8], P[4], and P[6] rotaviruses, respectively, which are the three predominantly circulating rotavirus P types globally. This approach consists of a chemical-based protein precipitation and an ion exchange purification, which may be scaled up for large vaccine production. All three P24-VP8* nanoparticle types self-assembled efficiently with authentic VP8*-glycan receptor binding function. After they were mixed as a trivalent vaccine, we showed that intramuscular immunization of the vaccine elicited high IgG titers specific to the three homologous VP8* types in mice. The resulted mouse sera strongly neutralized replication of all three rotavirus P types in cell culture. Thus, the trivalent P24-VP8* nanoparticles are a promising vaccine candidate for parenteral use against multiple P types of predominant rotaviruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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14 pages, 322 KiB  
Article
FUT2, Secretor Status and FUT3 Polymorphisms of Children with Acute Diarrhea Infected with Rotavirus and Norovirus in Brazil
by Marco André Loureiro Tonini, Débora Maria Pires Gonçalves Barreira, Luciana Bueno de Freitas Santolin, Lays Paula Bondi Volpini, José Paulo Gagliardi Leite, Béatrice Le Moullac-Vaidye, Jacques Le Pendu and Liliana Cruz Spano
Viruses 2020, 12(10), 1084; https://doi.org/10.3390/v12101084 - 25 Sep 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3111
Abstract
Host susceptibility according to human histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) is widely known for norovirus infection, but is less described for rotavirus. Due to the variable HBGA polymorphism among populations, we aimed to evaluate the association between HBGA phenotypes (ABH, Lewis and secretor status) [...] Read more.
Host susceptibility according to human histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) is widely known for norovirus infection, but is less described for rotavirus. Due to the variable HBGA polymorphism among populations, we aimed to evaluate the association between HBGA phenotypes (ABH, Lewis and secretor status) and susceptibility to rotavirus and norovirus symptomatic infection, and the polymorphisms of FUT2 and FUT3, of children from southeastern Brazil. Paired fecal-buccal specimens from 272 children with acute diarrhea were used to determine rotavirus/norovirus genotypes and HBGAs phenotypes/genotypes, respectively. Altogether, 100 (36.8%) children were infected with rotavirus and norovirus. The rotavirus P[8] genotype predominates (85.7%). Most of the noroviruses (93.8%) belonged to genogroup II (GII). GII.4 Sydney represented 76% (35/46) amongst five other genotypes. Rotavirus and noroviruses infected predominantly children with secretor status (97% and 98.5%, respectively). However, fewer rotavirus-infected children were Lewis-negative (8.6%) than the norovirus-infected ones (18.5%). FUT3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) occurred mostly at the T59G > G508A > T202C > C314T positions. Our results reinforce the current knowledge that secretors are more susceptible to infection by both rotavirus and norovirus than non-secretors. The high rate for Lewis negative (17.1%) and the combination of SNPs, beyond the secretor status, may reflect the highly mixed population in Brazil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)

Review

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23 pages, 3224 KiB  
Review
Glycan Recognition in Human Norovirus Infections
by Victoria R. Tenge, Liya Hu, B. V. Venkataram Prasad, Göran Larson, Robert L. Atmar, Mary K. Estes and Sasirekha Ramani
Viruses 2021, 13(10), 2066; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13102066 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4261
Abstract
Recognition of cell-surface glycans is an important step in the attachment of several viruses to susceptible host cells. The molecular basis of glycan interactions and their functional consequences are well studied for human norovirus (HuNoV), an important gastrointestinal pathogen. Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), [...] Read more.
Recognition of cell-surface glycans is an important step in the attachment of several viruses to susceptible host cells. The molecular basis of glycan interactions and their functional consequences are well studied for human norovirus (HuNoV), an important gastrointestinal pathogen. Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), a family of fucosylated carbohydrate structures that are present on the cell surface, are utilized by HuNoVs to initially bind to cells. In this review, we describe the discovery of HBGAs as genetic susceptibility factors for HuNoV infection and review biochemical and structural studies investigating HuNoV binding to different HBGA glycans. Recently, human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) were developed as a laboratory cultivation system for HuNoV. We review how the use of this novel culture system has confirmed that fucosylated HBGAs are necessary and sufficient for infection by several HuNoV strains, describe mechanisms of antibody-mediated neutralization of infection that involve blocking of HuNoV binding to HBGAs, and discuss the potential for using the HIE model to answer unresolved questions on viral interactions with HBGAs and other glycans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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11 pages, 25445 KiB  
Review
Structural Insight into Non-Enveloped Virus Binding to Glycosaminoglycan Receptors: A Review
by Marie N. Sorin, Jasmin Kuhn, Aleksandra C. Stasiak and Thilo Stehle
Viruses 2021, 13(5), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050800 - 29 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2287
Abstract
Viruses are infectious agents that hijack the host cell machinery in order to replicate and generate progeny. Viral infection is initiated by attachment to host cell receptors, and typical viral receptors are cell-surface-borne molecules such as proteins or glycan structures. Sialylated glycans (glycans [...] Read more.
Viruses are infectious agents that hijack the host cell machinery in order to replicate and generate progeny. Viral infection is initiated by attachment to host cell receptors, and typical viral receptors are cell-surface-borne molecules such as proteins or glycan structures. Sialylated glycans (glycans bearing sialic acids) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) represent major classes of carbohydrate receptors and have been implicated in facilitating viral entry for many viruses. As interactions between viruses and sialic acids have been extensively reviewed in the past, this review provides an overview of the current state of structural knowledge about interactions between non-enveloped human viruses and GAGs. We focus here on adeno-associated viruses, human papilloma viruses (HPVs), and polyomaviruses, as at least some structural information about the interactions of these viruses with GAGs is available. We also discuss the multivalent potential for GAG binding, highlighting the importance of charged interactions and positively charged amino acids at the binding sites, and point out challenges that remain in the field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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21 pages, 1018 KiB  
Review
ABO Blood Types and COVID-19: Spurious, Anecdotal, or Truly Important Relationships? A Reasoned Review of Available Data
by Jacques Le Pendu, Adrien Breiman, Jézabel Rocher, Michel Dion and Nathalie Ruvoën-Clouet
Viruses 2021, 13(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13020160 - 22 Jan 2021
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 16377
Abstract
Since the emergence of COVID-19, many publications have reported associations with ABO blood types. Despite between-study discrepancies, an overall consensus has emerged whereby blood group O appears associated with a lower risk of COVID-19, while non-O blood types appear detrimental. Two major hypotheses [...] Read more.
Since the emergence of COVID-19, many publications have reported associations with ABO blood types. Despite between-study discrepancies, an overall consensus has emerged whereby blood group O appears associated with a lower risk of COVID-19, while non-O blood types appear detrimental. Two major hypotheses may explain these findings: First, natural anti-A and anti-B antibodies could be partially protective against SARS-CoV-2 virions carrying blood group antigens originating from non-O individuals. Second, O individuals are less prone to thrombosis and vascular dysfunction than non-O individuals and therefore could be at a lesser risk in case of severe lung dysfunction. Here, we review the literature on the topic in light of these hypotheses. We find that between-study variation may be explained by differences in study settings and that both mechanisms are likely at play. Moreover, as frequencies of ABO phenotypes are highly variable between populations or geographical areas, the ABO coefficient of variation, rather than the frequency of each individual phenotype is expected to determine impact of the ABO system on virus transmission. Accordingly, the ABO coefficient of variation correlates with COVID-19 prevalence. Overall, despite modest apparent risk differences between ABO subtypes, the ABO blood group system might play a major role in the COVID-19 pandemic when considered at the population level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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33 pages, 4014 KiB  
Review
Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin and Other Pathogen Glycoprotein Interactions with NK Cell Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors NKp46, NKp44, and NKp30
by Jasmina M. Luczo, Sydney L. Ronzulli and Stephen M. Tompkins
Viruses 2021, 13(2), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/v13020156 - 21 Jan 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3945
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells are part of the innate immunity repertoire, and function in the recognition and destruction of tumorigenic and pathogen-infected cells. Engagement of NK cell activating receptors can lead to functional activation of NK cells, resulting in lysis of target cells. [...] Read more.
Natural killer (NK) cells are part of the innate immunity repertoire, and function in the recognition and destruction of tumorigenic and pathogen-infected cells. Engagement of NK cell activating receptors can lead to functional activation of NK cells, resulting in lysis of target cells. NK cell activating receptors specific for non-major histocompatibility complex ligands are NKp46, NKp44, NKp30, NKG2D, and CD16 (also known as FcγRIII). The natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs), NKp46, NKp44, and NKp30, have been implicated in functional activation of NK cells following influenza virus infection via binding with influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA). In this review we describe NK cell and influenza A virus biology, and the interactions of influenza A virus HA and other pathogen lectins with NK cell natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs). We review concepts which intersect viral immunology, traditional virology and glycobiology to provide insights into the interactions between influenza virus HA and the NCRs. Furthermore, we provide expert opinion on future directions that would provide insights into currently unanswered questions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycans in Viral Infection and Immunity)
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