Pregnancy-associated decrease of Siaα2-3Gal-linked glycans on salivary glycoproteins affects their binding ability to avian influenza virus.

Abstract

Salivary glycoproteins are known as an important barrier to inhibit influenza infection by presenting sialic acid (Sia) ligands that can bind with viral hemagglutination. Here, to further understand why pregnant women are more vulnerable to avian influenza virus (AIV), we investigated the alteration of protein sialylation in the saliva of women during pregnancy and postpartum, and its impact on the saliva binding affinity to AIV. Totally 1200 saliva samples were collected, the expression levels of terminal α2-3/6-linked Sia on salivary proteins were tested and validated, and the binding activities of salivary proteins were assessed against 3 strains of AIV and the H1N1 vaccine. Result showed that the expression of terminal α2-3-linked Sia in the saliva of women decreased dramatically during pregnancy compared to that of non-pregnancy control, especially for women in the second or third trimester (fold change = 0.53 and 0.37, p < 0.001). And their salivary protein binding ability to AIV declined accordingly. The variation of terminal α2-3-linked Sia on salivary MUC5B and IgA was consistent with the above results. This study indicates that the decrease of terminal α2-3-linked Sia on salivary glycoproteins of pregnant women affects their binding ability to AIV, which may provide new insights into AIV prevention and control.

• Authors: Li Ding, Xinle Fu, Wei Guo, Yimin Cheng, Xiangqin Chen, Kun Zhang, Guang Zhu, Fuying Yang, Hanjie Yu, Zhuo Chen, Xilong Wang, Xiurong Wang, Xiaohong Wang, Zheng Li
• Journal: International journal of biological macromolecules (Int J Biol Macromol) Vol. 184 Pg. 339-348 (Aug 01 2021) ISSN: 1879-0003 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 34097968 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Glycoproteins
• Immunoglobulin A
• Influenza Vaccines
• MUC5B protein, human
• Mucin-5B
• N-Acetylneuraminic Acid

Topics

• Adult
• Case-Control Studies
• Down-Regulation
• Female
• Gestational Age
• Glycoproteins (chemistry, metabolism)
• Humans
• Immunoglobulin A (chemistry, metabolism)
• Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype (metabolism)
• Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype (metabolism)
• Influenza A Virus, H9N2 Subtype (metabolism)
• Influenza A virus (metabolism)
• Influenza Vaccines (metabolism)
• Mucin-5B (chemistry, metabolism)
• N-Acetylneuraminic Acid (chemistry)
• Pregnancy
• Saliva (metabolism)
• Young Adult