Glycosaminoglycans and sialylated glycans sequentially facilitate Merkel cell polyomavirus infectious entry.

ABSTRACT: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV or MCPyV) appears to be a causal factor in the development of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but highly lethal form of skin cancer. Although recent reports indicate that MCV virions are commonly shed from apparently healthy human skin, the precise cellular tropism of the virus in healthy subjects remains unclear. To begin to explore this question, we set out to identify the cellular receptors or co-receptors required for the infectious entry of MCV. Although several previously studied polyomavirus species have been shown to bind to cell surface sialic acid residues associated with glycolipids or glycoproteins, we found that sialylated glycans are not required for initial attachment of MCV virions to cultured human cell lines. Instead, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs),

SUBMITTER: Schowalter RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3145800 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature