Viral respiratory infections, including influenza and COVID-19, are a leading cause of death and disability globally. While most people can recover, there are unanswered questions about what damage remains in the lungs and how they rebuild after infection.

Researchers at the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation have looked closely at one aspect of this question. All human cells have a sugar coating on their outer surface called the glycocalyx. This includes immune cells, and their glycocalyx determines how they interact with their local environment. Macrophages are a central immune cell that responds to infection, signals to other cells to coordinate immune responses, and controls tissue damage. In a recent paper, researchers across the Hussell and Dyer labs collaborated to look at how viral infections affect the macrophage glycocalyx and how these cells function during and after infection.

Taking advantage of newly developed techniques developed by the Dyer lab to measure types and quantities to measure cell surface sugars, researchers found that the glycocalyx of lung macrophages varies according to their location in the lung. By looking in viral infection models, they also discovered that immune signals produced during inflammation cause changes in the sugar layer, showing that macrophages adapt to different immune environments.

We define a new level of macrophage regulation; the glycocalyx. Different lung micro-environments change the macrophage glycocalyx and alter inflammatory tone. The glycocalyx represents a new strategy to manipulate clinical conditions where macrophage activity or inhibition underpins disease.

Professor Tracy Hussell

It has been a pleasure collaborating with Prof. Hussell on this project led by Dr Zhang to reveal new glycobiology underlying the immune response.

Dr Doug Dyer

The study combined expertise and between the Dyer and Hussell labs to uncover a previously unknown role of the glycocalyx in immune cell function and regulation. Newly developed techniques have expanded our knowledge on the glycocalyx beyond its well-established role in cell migration across blood vessels. Together, the research provides a new avenue for better understanding of how the lungs respond to viral disease and the immune pathways that begin the repair process towards a return to a healthy state.

Airway macrophage specific glycocalyx expression and remodeling following viral infection, published in Matrix Biology (2026). DOI:10.1016/j.matbio.2026.102033

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