Institut de Recherche et Développement, Faculté de Pharmacie, UMR 152 PharmaDev, Université Paul Sabatier, 35 Chemin des Maraîchers, 31062 Toulouse, France.
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Mar Drugs. 2020 Oct 29;18(11):543. 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.
海藻凝集素，特别是来自红藻的高甘露糖特异性凝集素，已被鉴定为有希望的抗病毒药物，能够在体外阻断各种包膜病毒（如流感病毒、疱疹病毒和 HIV-1）的复制。它们的抗病毒活性取决于对敏感宿主细胞表面糖蛋白受体的识别-特别是流感病毒的血凝素或 HIV-1 的 gp120，这反过来又触发融合事件，允许病毒基因组进入细胞并随后进行复制。形成覆盖 SARS-CoV-2 包膜的刺突的 S-糖蛋白上存在的聚糖的多样性，本质上是复杂型聚糖和高甘露糖型聚糖，表明高甘露糖特异性海藻凝集素特别适合作为冠状病毒的聚糖探针。本综述详细研究了高甘露糖特异性海藻凝集素的碳水化合物结合特异性，证明了它们作为冠状病毒特异性聚糖探针的潜力，以及用于检测和固定 SARS-CoV-2 以避免病毒释放到环境中的生物医学意义。还讨论了这些海藻凝集素作为 SARS-CoV-2 复制抑制剂的用途。
