Recognition of the GM3 Ganglioside Glycan by Rhesus Rotavirus Particles

Abstract

Rotaviruses are a major cause of severe infantile gastroenteritis in humans and animals worldwide, producing a childhood mortality exceeding 650 000 annually.[1] Mapping host cell glycan–virus interactions to define a viral glycointeractome is invaluable in providing new directions for the discovery of novel broad-spectrum drugs and vaccines. In that context we have recently reported the first NMR-based structural analysis of the interaction of GD1a (1) and GM1 (2) ganglioside glycans with recombinantly expressed rotaviral surface lectin VP8* from two distinct rotavirus strains.[2]