Abstract:
Glycans are ubiquitously expressed sugars, coating the cell and protein surfaces. They are found on many proteins as either short and branched chains or long chains sticking out from special membrane proteins, known as proteoglycans. This sugar cushion, the glycocalyx, modulates specific interactions and protects the cell. Here it is shown that both the expression of proteoglycans and the glycans expressed on the surface of both the host and virus proteins have a critical role in modulating viral attachment to the cell. A mathematical model using SARS-Cov-2 as an archetypical virus to study the glycan role during infection is proposed. It is shown that this occurs via a tug-of-war of forces. On one side, the multivalent molecular recognition that viral proteins have toward specific host glycans and receptors. On the other side, the glycan steric repulsion that a virus must overcome to approach such specific receptors. By balancing both interactions, viral tropism can be predicted. In other words, the authors can map out the cells susceptible to virus infection in terms of receptors and proteoglycans compositions.
摘要:
聚糖是广泛表达的糖,覆盖细胞和蛋白质表面。它们在许多蛋白质上被发现,无论是短链和支链还是长链,从特殊的膜蛋白中伸出来,被称为蛋白聚糖。这个糖垫,糖萼,调节特定的相互作用并保护细胞。这里显示蛋白聚糖的表达和在宿主和病毒蛋白两者的表面上表达的聚糖在调节病毒附着到细胞中具有关键作用。提出了一种使用SARS-Cov-2作为原型病毒研究聚糖在感染过程中的作用的数学模型。表明这是通过拉锯战发生的。在一边,病毒蛋白对特定宿主聚糖和受体的多价分子识别。在另一边,病毒接近这种特定受体必须克服的聚糖空间排斥。通过平衡两种相互作用,病毒嗜性是可以预测的。换句话说,作者可以根据受体和蛋白聚糖成分绘制出容易感染病毒的细胞。