SugarBindDB, a resource of glycan-mediated host–pathogen interactions

The SugarBind Database (SugarBindDB) covers knowledge of glycan binding of human pathogen lectins and adhesins. It is a curated database; each glycan–protein binding pair is associated with at least one published reference. The core data element of SugarBindDB is a set of three inseparable components: the pathogenic agent, a lectin/adhesin and a glycan ligand. Each entity (agent, lectin or ligand) is described by a range of properties that are summarized in an entity-dedicated page. Several search, navigation and visualisation tools are implemented to investigate the functional role of glycans in pathogen binding. The database is cross-linked to protein and glycan-relaled resources such as UniProtKB and UniCarbKB. It is tightly bound to the latter via a substructure search tool that maps each ligand to full structures where it occurs. Thus, a glycan–lectin binding pair of SugarBindDB can lead to the identification of a glycan-mediated protein–protein interaction, that is, a lectin–glycoprotein interaction, via substructure search and the knowledge of site-specific glycosylation stored in UniCarbKB. SugarBindDB is accessible at: http://sugarbind.expasy.org.