Host Defense and Viral Infection Mechanisms

Heparan sulfate is present at the surface of cells through its covalent binding to a cell membrane-attached core proteins. A large number of viruses interact with heparan sulfate that facilitates the attachment to host cells and subsequent infection. 

Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite, Plasmodium sporozoite, and is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. More than 40% of the people in the world live in areas at risk for malaria. Plasmodium sporozoites traverse the cytosol of several cells before invading a hepatocyte (38). The invasion of liver cells by these sporozoites has been ascribed to the interaction of circumsporozoite (CS) protein, a 40-45 kDa antigen (39) that covers the plasma membrane of sporozoites, with GAG side chains of PGs located on the surface of the hepatocytes 

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