Host-Pathogen Adhesion as the Basis of Innovative Diagnostics for Emerging Pathogens

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Diagnostic Development

Background:

• Infectious diseases pose a significant global health threat, exacerbated by emerging viruses and antibiotic resistance.
• Current diagnostics often struggle with specificity and sensitivity, necessitating novel approaches.
• Pathogen adhesins, crucial for host cell interaction, represent an underutilized diagnostic target.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in understanding adhesin-receptor interactions for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test development.
• To highlight the potential of adhesin-ligand binding for sensitive and specific pathogen detection.
• To explore how conserved binding sites can be leveraged for broadly applicable diagnostic tools.

Main Methods:

• Review of structure-defining technologies for molecular analysis of adhesins and their receptors.
• Analysis of adhesin-ligand interactions and their role in pathogen attachment.
• Inventory of adhesion factors and pathogen attachment mechanisms relevant for diagnostics.

Main Results:

• Adhesins mediate specific pathogen-host cell interactions, influencing diagnostic test performance.
• High-throughput "omics" technologies enable detailed molecular analysis of adhesin-ligand complexes.
• Conserved adhesin binding sites, particularly those interacting with slowly evolving host ligands, are promising targets.

Conclusions:

• Adhesin-ligand interactions offer a promising avenue for a new generation of pathogen detection tools.
• Exploiting conserved binding sites, especially using host ligands for pathogen enrichment, can enhance IVD sensitivity and specificity.
• These approaches are relevant for both established and emerging infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2.