Microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and host cells, such as plants and animals, have
carbohydrate chains and
lectins that reciprocally recognize one another. In hosts, the defense system is activated upon non-self-pattern recognition of microbial
pathogen-associated molecular patterns. These are present in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi.
Glycan-based
PAMPs are bound to a class of
lectins that are widely distributed among eukaryotes. The first step of
bacterial infection in humans is the adhesion of the pathogen's
lectin-like
proteins to the outer membrane surfaces of host cells, which are composed of
glycans. Microbes and hosts binding to each other specifically is of critical importance. The adhesion factors used between pathogens and hosts remain unknown; therefore, research is needed to identify these factors to prevent intestinal
infection or treat it in its early stages. This review aims to present a vision for the prevention and treatment of
infectious diseases by identifying the role of the host
glycans in the immune response against pathogenic intestinal bacteria through studies on the
lectin-
glycan interaction.