Carbohydrate Mediated Bacterial Adhesion

Abstract

In the process of adhesion, bacteria often carry proteins on their surface, adhesins, that bind to specific components of tissue cells or the extracellular matrix. In many cases these components are carbohydrate structures. The carbohydrate binding specificities of many bacteria have been uncovered over the years. The design and synthesis of inhibitors of bacterial adhesion has the potential to create new therapeutics for the prevention and possibly treatment of bacterial infections. Unfortunately, the carbohydrate structures often bind only weakly to the adhesion proteins, although drug design approaches can improve the situation. Furthermore, in some cases linking carbohydrates covalently together, to create so-called multivalent systems, can also significantly enhance the inhibitory potency. Besides adhesion inhibition as a potential therapeutic strategy, the adhesion proteins can also be used for detection. Novel methods to do this are being developed. These include the use of microarrays and glyconanoparticles. New developments in these areas are discussed.

Global Comparisons of Lectin–Glycan Interactions Using a Database of Analyzed Glycan Array Data

“…The competition for sialic acid motifs among lectins of various organism types might play a major role in microorganism-host biology. Both viral and bacterial pathogens can use sialic acids for attachment to host epithelial surfaces (22), and the binding to sialic acids might be in competition with host sialic-acid-binding lectins such as the siglecs (1). The interplay among host recognition of self-associated molecular patterns, sialic acids on invaders, and potential mimics of sialic acid on host antigens (23) might work to determine the outcome of microbial colonization (24).…”

Fucose-binding Lectin from Opportunistic Pathogen Burkholderia ambifaria Binds to Both Plant and Human Oligosaccharidic Epitopes

“…protein receptors with high specificity for glycoconjugates, to recognize and adhere to human tissues (12,13). More particularly, fucosylated glycoconjugates are present in higher quantity in CF lungs (14) and appear to be a target for lectins from pathogenic bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15) and Burkholderia cenocepacia (16,17).…”

En route from artificial to natural: Evaluation of inhibitors of mannose-specific adhesion of E. coli under flow

“…However, one of the main problems resulting from the widespread use of antibiotics is the appearance of resistant bacterial strains. [6] An alternative therapeutic strategy against bacterial infection is an antiadhesion therapy [7] in which carbohydrate inhibitors are employed to prevent bacterial adhesion. Numerous FimH antagonists have been developed for the inhibition of type 1 fimbriae-mediated bacterial adhesion.…”