Glycovirology

Among host cell surface determinants for pathogen attachment, sialic acids rank prominently. With picorna-, corona- and influenzaviruses as models, we aim to understand how viruses cope with the many complexities related to adherence to sialoglycans, e.g. how viruses escape irreversible binding to decoy receptors, how they distinguish decoys from bona fide entry receptors, and how viral adaptation to particular sialoglycans affect pathogenicity, spread, and cross species transmission. We have unique expertise in the analysis of protein-sialoglycan interactions and offer a range of assays (glycan array analysis, lectin binding assays, Bio-Layer Interferometry) with natural and designer glycoconjugates, as well as a toolbox of recombinant virus attachment proteins (‘virolectins) en enzymes for explorative sialoglycobiology.