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. 2020 Jun 23:11:1480.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01480. eCollection 2020.

Human Sialome and Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: An Understated Correlation?

Daniela Morniroli  1 , Maria Lorella Giannì  1   2 , Alessandra Consales  2 , Carlo Pietrasanta  1   2 , Fabio Mosca  1   2
Affiliations

Human Sialome and Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: An Understated Correlation?

Daniela Morniroli et al. Front Immunol. .
No abstract available

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; human sialome; pathogen susceptibility; sialic acid; sialoquake; viral infection.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Sialic acid recognition as an infection facilitator for Coronavirus strains. (1) MERS-CoV binds to non-acetylated sialoside receptors on the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, promoting clustering and facilitating its binding to its receptor DPP4. (2) SARS-CoV binds to ACE2 receptor. (3) SARS-CoV-2 binds to ACE2 receptor, but a surface region in Spike protein is very similar to MERS-CoV spike sialic acid-binding region, suggesting a possible role of sialic acid recognition in infection initiation. (B) Sialic acid recognition as a host defense mechanism for Coronavirus strains. (1) MERS-CoV can bind to sialylated O-linked glycans covering mucins on mucosal cell surfaces, thus being trapped in the mucous layer and consequently eliminated through ciliary movement. (2) SARS-CoV passes through the mucous layer without being stopped by decoy alternative binding sites. (3) SARS-CoV-2 shares with MERS-CoV the sialic acid binding region of Spike protein, and could therefore bind to sialylated O-linked glycans similarly to MERS-CoV, thus possibly being eliminated through ciliary movement.
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