Role of milk glycome in prevention, treatment, and recovery of COVID-19

Merve Kaplan; Arif Sercan Şahutoğlu; Sümeyye Sarıtaş; Hatice Duman; Ayşenur Arslan; Burcu Pekdemir; Sercan Karav

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1033779

Role of milk glycome in prevention, treatment, and recovery of COVID-19

Front Nutr. 2022 Nov 8:9:1033779. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1033779. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Merve Kaplan¹, Arif Sercan Şahutoğlu², Sümeyye Sarıtaş¹, Hatice Duman¹, Ayşenur Arslan¹, Burcu Pekdemir¹, Sercan Karav¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey.
² Department of Chemistry, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey.

Abstract

Milk contains all essential macro and micro-nutrients for the development of the newborn. Its high therapeutic and antimicrobial content provides an important function for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of certain diseases throughout life. The bioactive components found in milk are mostly decorated with glycans, which provide proper formation and modulate the biological functions of glycosylated compounds. The glycome of milk consists of free glycans, glycolipids, and N- and O- glycosylated proteins. Recent studies have shown that both free glycans and glycan-containing molecules have antiviral characteristics based on different mechanisms such as signaling, microbiome modulation, natural decoy strategy, and immunomodulatory action. In this review, we discuss the recent clinical studies and potential mechanisms of free and conjugated glycans' role in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral activity; glycans; glycosylation; human milk oligosaccharides; whey protein.

Publication types

Review