GlycoPar publishes an educational review on the importance of studying carbohydrate biology in parasites

GlycoPar is an Innovative Training Network funded by the European Commission whose objective is to train young scientists in the study of the structure, biosynthesis and biology of molecules linked to sugars (glycans) in parasites, and the role of such molecules in the host-parasite interaction.  As a result of the network's second workshop in October 2014, the principal investigators of the consortium, including Dr.Luis Izquierdo from ISGlobal, have published a short, educational review on the topic in the "Pearls" collection of Plos Pathogens.

One strategy that parasites have developed in order to infect different organisms and complete their life cycle consists in covering their surface with a protective calyx composed of glycoconjugates (sugars conjugated to proteins or lipids). These different glycoconjugates not only protect the parasite from the host's immune defences but also permit its interaction with the surrounding environment, thereby playing a key role in parasite virulence and survival.  However, there are many challenges associated to the study of parasite glycobiology, such as the difficulties in culturing different life stages, the lack of adequate genetic tools, and the vast diversity and complexity of glycoconjugates. 

GlycoPar develops 13 research projects to study different aspects that go from the structure and characteristics to the metabolism and function of parasite glycoconjugates, with the aim of translating such knowledge into novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools.  At ISGlobal, Luis Izquierdo supervises Marta Cova's PhD project that consists in deciphering sugar metabolism in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium is the "ugly duckling" in glycobiology, explains the scientist, because it is thought that it synthetises only one type of glycosylated molecules. "However," he adds, "we are finding that it actually has the necessary enzymes to perform other types of glycosylation and we want to understand their role in parasite survival."

The review authors conclude that, by combining the expertise and technological know-how of the different teams that compose the consortium (eight academic institutions and four biotech companies), GlycoPar offers a systematic and profound approach to the "important but frequently neglected area of pathogenic parasite research".   

Reference

Rodrigues JA, Acosta-Serrano A, Aebi M, Ferguson MA, Routier FH, Schiller I, Soares S, Spencer D, Titz A, Wilson IB, Izquierdo L. Parasite Glycobiology: A Bittersweet Symphony. PLoS Pathog. 2015 Nov 12;11(11):e1005169.