2. Academic Validation
  3. λ-Carrageenan inhibits African swine fever virus infection potentially through its interaction with the viral envelope protein CD2v

λ-Carrageenan inhibits African swine fever virus infection potentially through its interaction with the viral envelope protein CD2v

  • Carbohydr Polym. 2026 Jun 1:381:125142. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2026.125142.
Kun Han 1,  Limeng Sun 2,  Can Jin 3,  Siqi Wan 4,  Caiqin Cao 4,  Yulu Yue 4,  Man Lu 4,  Xiaotong Wang 4,  Yi Zheng 5,  Hailong Liu 4,  Yilin Guo 2,  Dagang Tao 4,  Jinxue Ruan 4,  Liangliang Fu 4,  Kan Ding 6,  Shengsong Xie 4,  Shuhong Zhao 1,  Kexin Du 7,  Guangli Yu 7,  Guoyun Li 7,  Wengang Chai 8,  Jingyu Yan 9,  Guiqing Peng 10,  Mei Yu 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya, 572024, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, China.
  • 3 Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, SSIP Healthcare and Medicine Demonstration Zone, Zhongshan Tsuihang New District, Zhongshan, 528400, China.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
  • 5 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China.
  • 6 Glycochemistry & Glycobiology Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China; Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, SSIP Healthcare and Medicine Demonstration Zone, Zhongshan Tsuihang New District, Zhongshan, 528400, China.
  • 7 Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education, and Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Glycoscience and Glycotechnology, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China.
  • 8 Glycosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK.
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, 116023, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 10 State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 11 Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41943364 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2026.125142
Abstract

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly pathogenic disease threatening the global swine industry and animal welfare, as there are no effective vaccines to prevent ASF virus (ASFV) Infection. This study aims to identify carbohydrates that target ASFV proteins and inhibit Infection, supporting alternative Antiviral strategies. CD2v is an outer envelope of ASFV that mediates virulence and affects virus replication. Here, carbohydrate microarrays, SPR, and Antiviral assays revealed that λ-carrageenan, but not κ- or ι-carrageenan, exhibited binding activity to CD2v derived from the HB01 strain of genotype II ASFV and has an anti-ASFV effect. Structural analysis using NMR and electrospray mass spectrometry revealed that the major difference of λ-carrageenan from its κ- and ι-analogs is the presence of the trisulfated disaccharide units, and the feature is attributed to the binding ability of λ-carrageenan on CD2v. Moreover, we found that λ-carrageenan exerts its Antiviral effect through three pathways: (1) disrupting CD2v-mediated hemadsorption, a key viral immune evasion strategy; (2) inhibiting viral attachment and entry, potentially via CD2v interaction; and (3) suppressing viral factory formation. Collectively, the results revealed a possible structure-activity relationship of λ-carrageenan and identified it as a polysaccharide with inhibitory activity against the ASFV-HB01 strain.

Keywords

African swine fever virus; Antiviral mechanism; λ-Carrageenan.

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