Unione Lab

Research focus

ERC Starting Grant · 2023

Isotopically labelling of cell surface glycans to illuminate infectious processes at atomic resolution

Every human cell is covered by a dense coat of glycans (sugars, carbohydrates). Sugars are the first molecules that viruses encounter when they approach host cells. Many viruses encode lectins to adhere to the outer glycan layer and start infection. In this scenario, Glycoscience holds a tremendous potential for combating infections. Elucidating the molecular basis of infection is essential, but far from trivial. The complexity of the chemistry of glycans, including synthesis, structure, conformation, and dynamics hampers the full knowledge of sugar-mediated recognition events and the development of glycan-based drugs. Surfing the current information on glycan/lectin interactions, we…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.