Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans. (2022)
Journal Article
Parafioriti, M., Ni, M., Petitou, M., Mycroft‐West, C. J., Rudd, T. R., Gandhi, N. S., …Elli, S. (2023). Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans. Chemistry - A European Journal, 29(1), https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202202599

Infection of host cells by SARS-CoV-2 begins with recognition by the virus S (spike) protein of cell surface heparan sulfate (HS), tethering the virus to the extracellular matrix environment, and causing the subunit S1-RBD to undergo a conformational... Read More about Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans..

The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models. (2021)
Journal Article
Davies, S., Mycroft-West, C., Pagani, I., Hill, H., Chen, Y., Karlsson, R., …Richardson, A. (2021). The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 660490. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.660490

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused a significant number of fatalities and worldwide disruption. To identify drugs to repurpose to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections, we established a screen to measure the di... Read More about The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models..

Molecular Changes in Dengue Envelope Protein Domain III upon Interaction with Glycosaminoglycans. (2020)
Journal Article
Hyatt, J. G., Prévost, S., Devos, J. M., Mycroft-West, C. J., Skidmore, M. A., & Winter, A. (2020). Molecular Changes in Dengue Envelope Protein Domain III upon Interaction with Glycosaminoglycans. Pathogens an international, open access journal of pathogens and pathogen-host interactions, 9(11), Article 935. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9110935

Dengue fever is a rapidly emerging vector-borne viral disease with a growing global burden of approximately 390 million new infections per annum. The Dengue virus (DENV) is a flavivirus spread by female mosquitos of the aedes genus, but the mechanism... Read More about Molecular Changes in Dengue Envelope Protein Domain III upon Interaction with Glycosaminoglycans..

Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin. (2019)
Journal Article
Devlin, A., Mycroft-West, C., Procter, P., Cooper, L., Guimond, S., Andrade De Lima, M., …Skidmore, M. (2019). Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin. Medicina, 55, 636 - 636. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100636

Heparin is a vital pharmaceutical anticoagulant drug and remains one of the few naturally sourced pharmaceutical agents used clinically. Heparin possesses a structural order with up to four levels of complexity. These levels are subject to change bas... Read More about Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin..

The role of heparan sulfate in host macrophage infection by Leishmania species (2018)
Journal Article
Maciej-Hulme, M., Skidmore, M., & Price, H. (2018). The role of heparan sulfate in host macrophage infection by Leishmania species. Transactions, 46(4), 789-796. https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20170398

The leishmaniases are a group of neglected tropical diseases caused by parasites from the Leishmania genus. More than 20 Leishmania species are responsible for human disease, causing a broad spectrum of symptoms ranging from cutaneous lesions to a fa... Read More about The role of heparan sulfate in host macrophage infection by Leishmania species.

Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans (2018)
Journal Article
Rogerson, E., Pelletier, J., Acosta-Serrano, A., Rose, C., Taylor, S., Guimond, S., …Yates, E. (2018). Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans. Pathogens an international, open access journal of pathogens and pathogen-host interactions, 7, https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens7010032

Tsetse flies are the principal insect vectors of African trypanosomes-sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. One of the tsetse fly species, Glossina morsitans morsitans, is host to the parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, a major cause of African... Read More about Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans.

Identification of heparin modifications and polysaccharide inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite invasion that have potential for novel drug development. (2017)
Journal Article
Boyle, M. J., Skidmore, M., Dickerman, B., Cooper, L., Devlin, A., Yates, E., …Beeson, J. G. (2017). Identification of heparin modifications and polysaccharide inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite invasion that have potential for novel drug development. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 61(11), https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00709-17

Despite recent successful control efforts, malaria remains a leading global health burden. Alarmingly, resistance to current antimalarials is increasing, and the development of new drug families is needed to maintain malaria control. Current antimala... Read More about Identification of heparin modifications and polysaccharide inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite invasion that have potential for novel drug development..