Deciphering the recognition features of glycans by human lectins at the molecular level

Resum

Carbohydrates are one of the most variable and complex molecules of biological systems. They areusually located at the cell membrane, mainly as glycoconjugates, glycoproteins or glycolipids and play animportant role in the specific molecular recognitions. Since structure and function are intrinsicallycorrelated, the three-dimensional shape, dynamics and presentation of these molecules is essential for therecognition processes to take place.In this work, we have employed a combination of X-Ray crystallography and Nuclear MagneticResonance spectroscopy (NMR) techniques, for obtaining atomic-scale information on the interactions ofglycans and glycomimetics, using either intact glycoproteins (the receptor binding domain of the spikeglycoprotein of SARS CoV2) or small molecules, with different receptors related to human diseases, withspecial emphasis on galectins and siglecs (immune response). The presented methodology allowsdisentangling the fine details of the vital glycan epitopes, providing key information for the developmentof novel therapeutics.