Heparan sulfate, a highly sulfated polysaccharide, is present on the surface of mammalian cells and in the extracellular matrix in large quantities. The sulfated monosaccharide sequences within heparan sulfate determine the protein binding specificity and regulate biological functions. Numerous viruses and parasites utilize cell surface heparan sulfate as receptors to infect target cells. Due to the structural complexity of heparan sulfate, it was considered a nonspecific cell surface receptor by interacting with the positive motifs of viral proteins. However, recent studies reveal that heparan sulfate plays multiple roles in assisting viral infection, and the activities in promoting viral infections require unique monosaccharide sequences, suggesting that heparan sulfate could serve as a specific receptor for viral infection. The currently available techniques for the structural analysis of heparan sulfate provide essential information about the specific roles of heparan sulfate in assisting viral infections. The knowledge accumulated in this fast growing field will permit us to have a better understanding of the mechanism of viral infection and will lead to the development of new antiviral agents.

中文翻译：

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细胞表面硫酸乙酰肝素及其在协助病毒感染中的作用。

硫酸乙酰肝素，一种高度硫酸化的多糖，大量存在于哺乳动物细胞的表面和细胞外基质中。硫酸乙酰肝素中的硫酸化单糖序列决定了蛋白质结合特异性并调节生物学功能。许多病毒和寄生虫利用细胞表面硫酸乙酰肝素作为受体来感染靶细胞。由于硫酸乙酰肝素的结构复杂性，通过与病毒蛋白的阳性基序相互作用，它被认为是一种非特异性细胞表面受体。但是，最近的研究表明，硫酸乙酰肝素在协助病毒感染中起着多种作用，并且促进病毒感染的活性需要独特的单糖序列，这表明硫酸乙酰肝素可以作为病毒感染的特异性受体。目前可用于硫酸乙酰肝素结构分析的技术提供了有关硫酸乙酰肝素在协助病毒感染中的特定作用的基本信息。在这个快速发展的领域中积累的知识将使我们对病毒感染的机制有更好的了解，并将导致新的抗病毒药物的开发。