Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global public health issue due to its association with severe developmental disorders in infants and neurological disorders in adults. ZIKV uses glycosylation of its envelope (E) protein to interact with host cell receptors to facilitate entry; these interactions could also be important for designing therapeutics and vaccines. Due to a lack of proper information about Asn-linked (N-glycans) on ZIKV E, we analyzed ZIKV E of various strains derived from different cells. We found ZIKV E proteins being extensively modified with oligomannose, hybrid and complex N-glycans of a highly heterogeneous nature. Host cell surface glycans correlated strongly with the glycomic features of ZIKV E. Mechanistically, we observed that ZIKV N-glycans might play a role in viral pathogenesis, as mannose-specific C-type lectins DC-SIGN and L-SIGN mediate host cell entry of ZIKV. Our findings represent the first detailed mapping of N-glycans on ZIKV E of various strains and their functional significance.
Keywords: N-linked glycans; Zika virus; envelope (E) protein; glycoprotein; host cell surface glycans; host–virus interactions; lectin array; mass spectrometry.