Alba Silipo - University of Naples Federico II

Alba Silipo

Decoding the Glycan Landscape: How Sugar Structure Shapes Function and Recognition

Deciphering the structural complexity of carbohydrate-based biomolecules remains a difficult challenge due to the intrinsic diversity of sugar world, which still limits automated analyses. Yet, this task is essential for understanding molecular interactions at the atomic level, particularly, but not only, in host–microbe communication. By integrating complementary biophysical approaches, including NMR spectroscopy, computational modeling, native MS, and immunological assays, we can unravel the structures, properties, and functions of glycans and their
roles in recognition mechanisms that define the sugar code.

This lecture will explore the dual nature of the glycocode: its beneficial role as a mediator of cross-talk, homeostasis, and immune system development, and its harmful role when exploited by pathogens and cancer cells. I will place a special emphasis on the glyco-features of bacterial cell surfaces that fine-tune eukaryotic immune responses.