Glycan‐Binding Proteins as Microbial Detectors

Abstract

Humans and other mammals live with microbial residents. A host must therefore distinguish between microorganisms that are benign (commensal), beneficial (mutualist/symbiont), or pathogenic. The mechanisms involved in surveillance of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites have not been fully delineated, but lectins are emerging as important components. Indeed, the glycans displayed on mammalian cell surfaces can differ markedly from those on microbes. Microbial cell‐surface glycans therefore serve as a rich identification code that can be read by host lectins to make decisions about which microbes stay and which must go. To this end, we have examined the recognition properties of the intelectins, which are X‐type lectins that reside at mucosal barriers. This seminar will describe our recent results on intelectin recognition and on the properties of lectins that allow them to function as microbial detectors. We envision that an understanding of mucosal lectin recognition can lead to new strategies to combat pathogens and new approaches to regulate microbiome composition to promote human health.Support or Funding InformationWe thank the NIH (R01GM55984 and R01AI063596) for support.