Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Norovirus Binding Requires Attachment to Fucose Residues

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 09 Aug 2018
Norovirus, the most common cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, depends on binding to fucose molecules in order to attach to and invade cells in the human digestive tract.

Studies have found that norovirus infection routes in humans require binding of the pathogen to gastrointestinal epithelia via recognition of blood group–active mucin-typeO-glycans (fucose residues) as the initiating and essential event. In this regard, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have been shown to be competitors of major importance to norovirus binding.

Human milk oligosaccharides form the third most abundant solid component (dissolved or emulsified or suspended in water) of human milk after lactose and fat. Approximately 200 structurally different human milk oligosaccharides are known. The composition of human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk is individual to each mother and varies over the period of lactation with the dominant oligosaccharide in 80% of all women being 2'-fucosyllactose.

In contrast to the other components of breast milk that are absorbed by the infant through breastfeeding, HMOs are indigestible for the newborn child. However, they have a prebiotic effect and serve as food for intestinal bacteria. The dominance of these intestinal bacteria in the gut reduces colonization with pathogenic bacteria and thereby ensures a healthy intestinal flora) and reduced risk of dangerous intestinal infections. Recent studies also suggest that HMOs significantly lower the risk of viral and bacterial infections and thus diminish the chance to develop diarrhea and respiratory diseases.

In order to identify the structural elements required for norovirus binding, investigators at the University of Cologne (Germany) used capsid binding-based arrays to focus on fractions of high-molecular mass HMOs with high fucose contents.

The investigators reported in the July 27, 2018, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry that HMO fractions with the strongest binding capacities contained hepta- to decasaccharides expressing branches with terminal blood group H1 or Lewis-b antigen. In other words, the strength of the binding between the norovirus protein and HMOs did not depend on the specific structure of the HMO, or the types of fucose molecules it contained. Rather, what mattered was, in principle, how many fucose residues it contained.

"The binding of the virus is not dependent in any way on further structural elements of HMOs," said first author Dr. Franz-Georg Hanisch, a researcher at the University of Cologne. "It's only the terminal fucose which is recognized, and the more fucose at higher densities is presented, the better is the binding."

Related Links:
University of Cologne


Gold Member
Fully Automated Cell Density/Viability Analyzer
BioProfile FAST CDV
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Toxoplasma Gondii Immunoassay
Toxo IgM AccuBind ELISA Kit
New
Aspergillus Test
REALQUALITY Aspergillus
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The ready-to-use DUB enzyme assay kits accelerate routine DUB activity assays without compromising data quality (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.