An overview of lectin–glycan interactions: a key event in initiating fungal infection and pathogenesis

Abstract

Infections due to microfungi are of serious concern in many parts of the world. Many species of microfungi are known to cause systemic infection in human beings. Pathogenic microorganisms employ various molecular strategies for colonizing a susceptible host. Recent studies have shown the importance of lectins from microfungi that enable the pathogen to interact with the host, resulting in host immune response. These fungal lectins or adhesins show specific affinities to the glycans present on the membrane proteins or lipids. Binding of the pathogen to the receptors, probably toll-like receptors or dectins, present on the host cell surface triggers/initiates a cascade of signalling pathways, leading to the activation of transcription factors such as NF-κB resulting in the release of proinflammatory cytokines which in turn recruit cells of the immune system to the site of microbial insult to combat the pathogen or resulting in pathogenesis. In this review, we will focus on the interaction between fungal lectins and the host glycans initiating pathogenesis and how the host immune system tries to suppress the pathogenesis.

Lectins as antimicrobial agents

“…). Nevertheless, studies that address the mechanism of antibacterial or antifungal action are still in a minority (Ballal and Inamdar ; Patin et al . ; Van Holle and Van Damme ).…”

Decoding glycans: deciphering the sugary secrets to be coherent on the implication

“…Fungal lectins gained prominent interest in the past decade because of their intriguing sugar specicities, and their biological activities ascend to a wide range of potential pharmacological and biotechnological implications. 31,32 Discovered lectins have been reported to manifest broad specicity towards varied carbohydrates and glycoproteins. The main characteristics of these lectin domains are that the majority are glycoproteins.…”

Cryptococcal Traits Mediating Adherence to Biotic and Abiotic Surfaces

“…In medical mycology, perhaps the best studied organisms are Candida spp. which have many adhesins for interaction with the human host (reviewed in [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]). For fungal pathogens, adhesins represent a repertoire of cell-wall proteins mediating specific protein-protein, protein-sugar, or other protein-ligand interactions, which are key to the infection process.…”