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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Quantifying Human Norovirus Virus-like Particles Binding to Commensal Bacteria Using Flow Cytometry
Published on: April 29, 2020
Structural Basis for Norovirus Inhibition by Human Milk Oligosaccharides
Stefan Weichert1, Anna Koromyslova2,3, Bishal K Singh2,3
1Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, University Children's Hospital Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Abstract:
Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) are important binding factors for norovirus infections. We show that two human milk oligosaccharides, 2'-fucosyllactose (2'FL) and 3-fucosyllactose (3FL), could block norovirus from binding to surrogate HBGA samples. We found that 2'FL and 3FL bound at the equivalent HBGA pockets on the norovirus capsid using X-ray crystallography. Our data revealed that 2'FL and 3FL structurally mimic HBGAs. These results suggest that 2'FL and 3FL might act as naturally occurring decoys in humans.
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