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WHEN AND HOW DOES A VIRUS ATTACH?
Biosensor measures zoonotic potential of influenza viruses Better understanding of the bond between viruses and host cells contributes to predicting whether animal viruses can be transmitted to humans (and vice versa). Researchers Erhard van der Vries from Royal GD and Jurriaan Huskens and Nico Overeem from the University of Twente (Nico joined GD in November) have developed a biosensor that can measure this bond between virus and host cell. This biosensor can be used to help predict the zoonotic potential of influenza viruses. This information is important when analysing the risk posed by zoonotic viruses, such as influenza and coronavirus. Influenza viruses infect a host through their receptor-binding proteins, which bind to sugar structures on the host organism’s cell surface. But how does a virus recognise human ‘host cells’, despite the cell surface being different to that seen in animals? To answer this question, researchers from Royal GD and the University of Twente replicated the surface of a cell on a micro-
Article and animation An article on this study was published at the end of last year in the American scientific journal ACS Central Science, under the title ‘Hierarchical multivalent effects control influenza host specificity’. An animation was also created, to show clearly how the biosensor works and why this could have a positive impact on the protection of animal and human health.
4 - Update, April 2021
The biosensor provides insight into how and at which density of receptors a virus binds tot different host cels.
chip, in order to understand this binding process at a molecular level. The binding process is complex: the length, structure and density of these sugars (glycans) vary between humans and animals, and a minimum number of receptor cells also appear to be required for a virus to attach to a host cell. Important insights The researchers created a cell surface with varying sugar densities and structures on this biosensor. This allowed the researchers to determine for the first time the minimum sugar density needed for a virus to attach. This minimum sugar density was also highly dependent on the length and type of sugar structure. The biosensor therefore provides insight into how a virus binds to different host cells, with the minimum receptor density for avian or human-type receptors acting as a measure for the risk of zoonosis. This knowledge allows more accurate estimation of the risk of influenza viruses being transmitted from animals to humans. These insights will also be important for future research into other zoonotic viruses, such as coronaviruses.
