Man-Specific, GalNAc/T/Tn-Specific and Neu5Ac-Specific Seaweed Lectins as Glycan Probes for the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Coronavirus

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 18; no. 11; p. 543
• Main Authors: Barre, Annick, Damme, Els J M Van, Simplicien, Mathias, Benoist, Hervé, Rougé, Pierre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 29-10-2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus - isolation & purification; Coronavirus Infections - diagnosis; Coronavirus Infections - virology; COVID-19; griffithsin; Lectins - chemistry; Life Sciences; Mannose - chemistry; mannose-specific lectins; N-acetylgalactosamine-specific lectins; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - diagnosis; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; Polysaccharides - chemistry; red algae; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Seaweed - chemistry; seaweed lectins; T/Tn-specific lectins; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; red algae; seaweed lectins; griffithsin; N-acetylgalactosamine-specific lectins; mannose-specific lectins; O-glycosylation; T/Tn-specific lectins; high-mannose glycans; N-glycosylation; glycan probes; seaweed lectins red algae mannose-specific lectins N-acetylgalactosamine-specific lectins T/Tn-specific lectins griffithsin SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 N-glycosylation O-glycosylation high-mannose glycans glycan probes
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md18110543

Seaweed lectins, especially high-mannose-specific lectins from red algae, have been identified as potential antiviral agents that are capable of blocking the replication of various enveloped viruses like influenza virus, herpes virus, and HIV-1 in vitro. Their antiviral activity depends on the recognition of glycoprotein receptors on the surface of sensitive host cells-in particular, hemagglutinin for influenza virus or gp120 for HIV-1, which in turn triggers fusion events, allowing the entry of the viral genome into the cells and its subsequent replication. The diversity of glycans present on the S-glycoproteins forming the spikes covering the SARS-CoV-2 envelope, essentially complex type
-glycans and high-mannose type
-glycans, suggests that high-mannose-specific seaweed lectins are particularly well adapted as glycan probes for coronaviruses. This review presents a detailed study of the carbohydrate-binding specificity of high-mannose-specific seaweed lectins, demonstrating their potential to be used as specific glycan probes for coronaviruses, as well as the biomedical interest for both the detection and immobilization of SARS-CoV-2 to avoid shedding of the virus into the environment. The use of these seaweed lectins as replication blockers for SARS-CoV-2 is also discussed.