Sugars found on the surface of human cells influence COVID-19 infection, according to a University of Alberta-led study that is one of the first to observe this relationship and suggests that cells in the brain might be particularly susceptible.
The idea here is that the virus is leveraging or using the host glycans, or the host sugars, to gain access to the cells, said Matthew Macauley, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Chemical Glycoimmunology. This mode of action of viral entry is not unprecedented, he said. What is a surprise, though, is that it hadnt really been detected….