[Virus and heparan sulphate: from adsorption mechanism to cellular entry]

Heparan sulphates are complex polysaccharides that belong to a class of molecules called glycosaminoglycans. Linked to different core proteins, they are ubiquitously expressed at most cells' surface. These molecules interact with a huge number of distinct proteins and regulate their biological activities. In particular different viruses make use of heparan sulphate interactive properties to dock themselves at the surface of their cellular targets. This interaction enables the viruses to concentrate at the close proximity of others molecules that act as co-receptors, and as such increases viral entry. Recent progresses in the structural characterisation of glycosaminoglycans have helped to understand the relationship between the structure of these molecules and their ability to recognise viral capside or envelope glycoproteins. These works also showed the direct role of these molecules in viral tropism and mechanism of entry, and suggest medical applications as biotechnological strategies.