Glycan in Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases lead to millions of deaths worldwide each year and are a considerable burden for economies, especially in underdeveloped countries. The interaction between glycans and other biomolecules is involved in all the main steps of infection. The thorough investigation of glycans may accelerate the therapy and diagnosis of these diseases. Creative Biolabs is a pioneer company in antibodies discovery and development. With our professional scientists committed to research, now we offer a full range of anti-glycan antibody development services for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Our experienced scientists will take part in every step of your program to accelerate your project development.

Introduction

Infectious diseases (IDs) are the major cause of death in many countries. The prevention and successful treatment of IDs have been named a millennium goal of the United Nations. A detailed understanding of the complex and interrelated factors that contribute to the evolution and survival of infectious agents is essential as a basis for true breakthroughs for vaccination and therapeutic approaches. Cell surface glycans and glycan-binding proteins (GBPs) mediate many processes during disease manifestation and immune response. For example, bacterial capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is involved in the escape of immune processes. Being a surface-exposed antigen, CPS is the basis for positively successful vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae that result in both direct and indirect protection through herd immunity and enjoy great economic success. Pathogenic GBPs mediate infection to host cells, while host GBPs promote pathogen recognition, immune activation, and clearance. In addition, some secreted bacterial proteins like toxins A and B from Clostridium difficile use cell surface glycans as receptors. Plasmodium falciparum can produce a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) glycan toxin.

Fig.1 Glycans as a major connective chain that controls T cell response in either a tolerogenic or immunostimulatory scenario.^{1, 2}

The Role of Glycans in Infectious Disease

Escherichia coli has caused many urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can adhere to bladder epithelial cells via a mannose-binding lectin, FimH, located on the F-pilus of the bacterium. A nonantibiotic treatment for this very common infection is D-mannose, which can compete with the bacterial glycan binding to the urinary tract. Another alternative is optimized synthetic α-mannosides, which is considered as a promising candidate to treat and prevent UTIs.

Many pathogens achieve infection by binding to cell-surface glycans. For example, some pathogenic strains of E. coli infect the urinary tract by a lectin binding to the P blood group antigens. The E. coli P fimbriae lectins also contribute to spreading bacterial infections from the kidney to the bloodstream. Besides, some pathogenic microorganisms remain at the site of infection by secreting sialidases (neuraminidases). However, in some severe cases (e.g., Clostridium perfringens-mediated gas gangrene), sialidases can reach the plasma where they desialylate red cells, resulting in increased red cell clearance and anemia. Measuring plasma sialidase may aid diagnosis and prognosis. In addition, sialidase-producing Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome infections and selectively suppress their sialidase could have therapeutic value.

Features of Our Anti-glycan Antibody

• Time- and labor-saving
• Versatile formats available
• Superior quality
• Skillful technique support
• Cost-effective

Glycan is regarded as a useful biomarker in the detection and diagnosis of numerous infectious diseases. Along with years of rich experience in the field of antibodies discovery, Creative Biolabs has successfully finished lots of projects for our customers all over the world. We are now confident in offering customized anti-glycan antibodies to meet your specific needs. If you are interested in our service, please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.

References:

1. Pereira, Márcia S., et al. "Glycans as key checkpoints of T cell activity and function." Frontiers in immunology 9 (2018): 2754.
2. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.