Considering DNA/RNA viruses, naked RNA (viroids) and proteins (prions) which are believed to be causative agents of particular severe infectious diseases, is there any (theoretical) infectious potential for the rest of biological macromolecules (lipids and polysacharides)? Just interested if someone explored this possibility and if there are some papers dealing with this idea (I was unable to find any). Thanks for your suggestions :)
I think that lipids and polysacharides cannot be allone "infectious". However at least sacharides can be "immunogenic":
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15682450/
Dear Václav Brázda, thanks for your answer! I had in my mind some "prion-like" mechanism, where the infectious polysaccharides and/or lipids change the form/structure of wild-type/healthy macromolecules in the host cells/tissues. Maybe nothing has been published about it yet, but I'm interested in a purely theoretical point of view.
Hi Martin. As Vaclav says, polysaccharides and lipids can be immunostimulatory/modulatory. For example, bacterial lipopolysaccharide and glucans in the cell wall of fungal pathogens are key pathogen-associated molecular patterns. My background is in the host recognition of polysaccharides in pathogens, so I'm happy to discuss if I can provide any guidance.
Hi Stefan Bidula , thanks for the answer. I know that you are into host immunity mechanisms, I have read some of your great papers (lastly the Analysis of putative G4s in inflammatory mediators)! In this question, I mean rather some (still undescribed) "selfish" molecules, as are viroids and prions, but on the basis of lipids and/or polysaccharides. Maybe this is totally nonsense, on the other hand, Stanley Prusiner in 80s went also against the conventions, and now it seems that the prion hypothesis is widely accepted :)
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