Warfare between Pathogens and Hosts: The Trickery of Sugars

Abstract

Many hosts-pathogen interactions are often mediated by carbohydrates by the interplay between glycans and glycan binding protein (GBP). Glycans on the host cells may be bound by the pathogen GBP and glycans on the pathogens may be bound by the GBP on the host cells. Some pathogens can even take advantage of the host cell defense mechanisms to promote their survival.