Geert‐Jan Boons

This paper synthesizes 6-sulfo sialyl Lewisx glycans to identify MERS-CoV's preferred receptor and develops a multivalent inhibitor.

This paper develops an enzymatic platform to synthesize diverse mAb glycoforms and uses them to study α-Gal immunogenicity and FcγR binding.

This study examines the evolution of H1N1 influenza viruses over five decades, revealing conserved glycan receptor specificity despite amino acid changes in the hemagglutinin.

This study uses self-assembling nanoparticles to investigate how multivalent HA binding affects influenza virus interaction with glycan surfaces, finding that valency and receptor density significantly influence binding strength and mode.

This study compares the pathogenicity and transmissibility of two H5N1 genotypes in ferrets, finding B3.13 is more pathogenic and transmissible than D1.1, while D1.1 acquires adaptive mutations rapidly.

This study shows that multiple mutations, not just Q226L, are required for H5N1 hemagglutinin to bind human respiratory tract tissue, highlighting the complexity of receptor specificity evolution.

This study investigates how amino acid substitutions in H3N2 influenza A virus subclade K affect hemagglutination and glycan binding, showing a preference for elongated glycans not present on turkey erythrocytes.

The paper reveals how long-chain heparan sulfate (HS) facilitates paracrine GDNF-GFRα1 signaling by forming a multi-protein complex with RET, essential for signaling in trans but not in cis.

This study shows avian IAVs preferentially bind ciliated cells but replicate similarly in secretory and ciliated cells, while human IAVs bind ciliated cells but replicate more efficiently in secretory cells due to ANP32 usage.

This study characterizes antibody responses to H3 influenza A virus in mallard ducks, revealing unique features compared to human antibodies and highlighting gene conversion in antibody evolution.

This study characterizes the emergence and antigenic properties of influenza A(H3N2) viruses with N158K and K189R substitutions, showing they are antigenically distinct from vaccine strains and may reduce vaccine effectiveness.

This study identifies that H5Nx influenza A viruses bind promiscuously to avian-type mucin-like O-glycans, enhancing their zoonotic potential by binding human tracheal tissues.

This paper introduces a de novo sequencing method using ion mobility-mass spectrometry to identify isomeric glycans by building a self-expanding reference database from biological samples.

This study shows vaccine-induced immunity drives antigenic drift in a human-origin H3N2 virus in swine, altering HA receptor binding and glycan specificity.

The paper describes a chemoenzymatic method to synthesize O-acetylated GD3 gangliosides and uses them to study viral receptor specificities in a cellular context.

The paper designs and evaluates C-6 modified GDP-2-F-Fuc analogs as FUT inhibitors, finding two compounds that potently inhibit FUT1, 3, 6, and 9 with minimal activity against FUT8.

The paper identifies a Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophage, Clew-1, that uses Psl as a receptor to disrupt biofilms and reduce bacterial burden in a mouse model.

This study synthesizes oligosaccharides from Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 35B and 35D to investigate their binding to complement and serum factors, revealing the role of O-acetylation in immune evasion and vaccine efficacy.

This study identifies epistatic interactions in H3N2 influenza viruses that enable reversion to bind sialylated diLacNAc glycans, impacting receptor specificity and vaccine strain selection.

This study identifies sialic acid-containing glycolipids as novel receptors for EV-D68 and shows that different strains prefer distinct sialic acid linkages.

This paper develops a synthetic method to create sulfoglucuronyl glycosphingolipids with HNK-1 epitopes, demonstrating their role in complement-mediated erythrocyte lysis by anti-HNK-1 antibodies.

This paper introduces a light-sensitive hyaluronic acid hydrogel for 3D cell culturing, differentiation, and harvesting of mesenchymal stromal cells, showing it can modulate cell behavior through light exposure.

This paper develops a chemoenzymatic method to synthesize asymmetrical bisecting N-glycans and investigates their binding properties with lectins and influenza viruses.

The paper characterizes glycoproteins of novel fish influenza B-like viruses, revealing differences in receptor binding and antigenic conservation compared to influenza B viruses.

The paper examines the receptor-binding specificity of a bovine HPAI H5N1 virus using multiple assays and finds it preferentially binds avian-type receptors.

The paper shows that a single Q226L mutation in the HA protein of a 2.3.4.4e H5 virus allows it to bind human-type receptors, unlike a modified 2.3.4.4b virus.

This paper develops a chemoenzymatic method to precisely glyco-tag proteins, enabling the modification of therapeutic proteins with diverse glycans while maintaining their biological activity.

Genipin rescues developmental and degenerative defects in familial dysautonomia and enhances neuron regeneration after injury.

This paper evaluates 2,2-di-fluoro-fucose derivatives as FUT inhibitors, finding they inhibit fucosylation without slow transfer to acceptors, and show feedback inhibition of GDP-Fuc biosynthesis.