Linh Nguyen, Kelli A McCord, Duong T Bui, Kim M Bouwman, Elena N Kitova, Mohamed Elaish, Dhanraj Kumawat, Gour C Daskhan, Ilhan Tomris, Ling Han, Pradeep Chopra, Tzu-Jing Yang, Steven D Willows, Andrew L Mason, Lara K Mahal, Todd L Lowary, Lori J West, Shang-Te Danny Hsu, Tom Hobman, Stephen M Tompkins, Geert-Jan Boons, Robert P de Vries, Matthew S Macauley, John S Klassen
Emerging evidence suggests that host glycans influence severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Here, we reveal that the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein on SARS-CoV-2 recognizes oligosaccharides containing sialic acid (Sia), with preference for monosialylated gangliosides. Gangliosides embedded within an artificial membrane also bind to the RBD. The monomeric affinities (Kd = 100-200 μM) of gangliosides for the RBD are similar to another negatively charged glycan ligand of the RBD proposed as a viral co-receptor, heparan sulfate (HS) dp2-dp6 oligosaccharides...
November 9, 2021: Nature Chemical Biology