HIV-1 interaction with an O-glycan-specific bacterial lectin enhances virus infectivity and cell-to-cell viral transfer—Heindel 2023

Bacterial dysbiosis increases HIV-1 transmission risk, but little is known about HIV-1-bacteria relationships. HIV-1 infectivity is affected by glycan-binding lectins. The Streptococcal Siglec-like lectin SLBR-N, which detects α2,3 sialyated O-linked glycans and is part of the fimbriae surrounding the bacteria, enhances HIV-1 infectivity in cell-free and cell-to-cell transfer. SLBR-N captured HIV-1 virions, bound to Env O-glycans, and enhanced CD4 binding to Env. Other SLBRs that recognized different O-glycans also increased HIV-1 infectivity, while FimH and Msl did not. O-glycan-binding plant lectins boosted. Thus, O-glycan-binding lectins from commensal bacteria at the mucosa may promote HIV-1 infection.

Heindel, D., Acosta, D. F., Goff, M., Jan, M., Wang, X. H., Petrova, M., Chan, K. W., Kong, X. P., Chen, B., Mahal, L., Bensing, B., & Hioe, C. (2023). HIV-1 interaction with an O-glycan-specific bacterial lectin enhances virus infectivity and cell-to-cell viral transfer. Research square, rs.3.rs-2596269. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2596269/v1