Abstract
Influenza virus and other viruses use host cell surface sugars as receptors. Here we show that the sugar-binding domains in influenza virus hemagglutinin and other viral lectins share the same structural fold as human galectins (host lectins). Unlike the easily accessible sugar-binding sites in human galectins, the sugar-binding sites in viral lectins are hidden in cavities. We propose that these viral lectins originated from host lectins but have evolved to use hidden sugar-binding sites to evade host immune attacks.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4118-4120 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of virology |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2013 |