Studying the interaction of glycans with intact virions and virus-like particles by ligand-observed NMR spectroscopy

Abstract

Virus-glycan interactions play a crucial role in the infection process of many viruses. NMR spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for studying these interactions at the molecular level. In this article, we review several published papers and reports that have highlighted the application of NMR spectroscopy in understanding the complex questions of how viruses engage with and bind to receptor glycans. The use of saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy has demonstrated itself as highly advantageous in investigating the interaction between glycans and intact virions or virus-like particles (VLPs). The broad NMR signal linewidth of virions and VLPs allows efficient saturation without affecting the glycan signals. The advantage of this approach is that the viral capsid environment in protein organization and function is not ignored and therefore provides a more biologically relevant model for exploring the interactions between the virus and the host cell glycans. We will review some examples of using NMR spectroscopy to study influenza cell tropism, rotaviruses, and noroviruses.