6'-Sialyllactose consists of the monosaccharide N-acetylneuraminic acid linked to the galactosyl subunit of lactose at the 6 position. This connection is at the 3 position in the related compound, 3’-sialyllactose. Both are major milk oligosaccharides that avidly bind several viral strains, including strains of influenza, HIV-1, reovirus, and polyomavirus.[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6] These compounds can be used to differentiate and characterize the binding domains of viruses that recognize N-acetylneuraminic acid-capped cell surface receptors. They are also used as analytical reference standards for quantification in samples such as milk or colostrum.
Reference：
[1]. Duncan, P.I., Raymond, F., Fuerholz, A., et al. Sialic acid utilisation and synthesis in the neonatal rat revisited. PLoS One 4(12), 1-10 (2009).
[2]. Sprenger, N., and Duncan, P.I. Sialic acid utilization. Adv.Nutr. 3(3), 392S-397S (2012).
[3]. Iskarpatyoti, J.A., Morse, E.A., McClung, R.P., et al. Serotype-specific differences in inhibition of reovirus infectivity by human-milk glycans are determined by viral attachment protein σ1. Virology 433(2), 489-497 (2012).
[4]. Neu, U., Khan, Z.M., Schuch, B., et al. Structures of B-lymphotropic polyomavirus VP1 in complex with oligosaccharide ligands. PLoS Pathogens 9(10), 1-10 (2013).
[5]. Rosa Borges, A., Wieczorek, L., Johnson, B., et al. Multivalent dendrimeric compounds containing carbohydrates expressed on immune cells inhibit infection by primary isolates of HIV-1. Virology 408(1), 80-88 (2010).
[6]. Wu, W., and Air, G.M. Binding of influenza viruses to sialic acids: Reassortant viruses with A/NWS/33 hemagglutinin bind to α2,8-linked sialic acid. Virology 325(2), 340-350 (2004).