Synthesis and unexpected binding of monofluorinated N,N'-diacetylchitobiose and LacdiNAc to wheat germ agglutinin.

Fluorination of carbohydrate ligands of lectins is a useful approach to examine their binding profile, improve their metabolic stability and lipophilicity, and convert them into 19F NMR-active probes. However, monofluorination of monovalent carbohydrate ligands often leads to a decreased or completely lost affinity. By chemical glycosylation, we synthesized the full series of methyl ß-glycosides of N,N'-diacetylchitobiose (GlcNAcß(1-4)GlcNAcß1-OMe) and LacdiNAc (GalNAcß(1-4)GlcNAcß1-OMe) systematically monofluorinated at all hydroxyl positions. A competitive enzyme-linked lectin assay revealed that the fluorination at the 6'-position of chitobioside resulted in an unprecedented increase in affinity to wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) by one order of magnitude. For the first time, we have characterized the binding profile of a previously underexplored WGA ligand LacdiNAc. Surprisingly, 4'-fluoro-LacdiNAc bound WGA even stronger than unmodified LacdiNAc. These observations were interpreted using molecular dynamic calculations along with STD and transferred NOESY NMR techniques, which gave evidence for the strengthening of CH/π interactions after deoxyfluorination of the side chain of the non-reducing GlcNAc. These results highlight the potential of fluorinated glycomimetics as high-affinity ligands of lectins and 19F NMR-active probes.

Lactose-Functionalized Carbosilane Glycodendrimers Are Highly Potent Multivalent Ligands for Galectin-9 Binding: Increased Glycan Affinity to Galectins Correlates with Aggregation Behavior.

Galectins, the glycan binding proteins, and their respective carbohydrate ligands represent a unique fundamental regulatory network modulating a plethora of biological processes. The advances in galectin-targeted therapy must be based on a deep understanding of the mechanism of ligand-protein recognition. Carbosilane dendrimers, the well-defined and finely tunable nanoscaffolds with low toxicity, are promising for multivalent carbohydrate ligand presentation to target galectin receptors. The study discloses a synthetic method for two types of lactose-functionalized carbosilane glycodendrimers (Lac-CS-DDMs). Furthermore, we report their outstanding, dendritic effect-driven affinity to tandem-type galectins, especially Gal-9. In the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the affinity of the third-generation multivalent dendritic ligand bearing 32 lactose units to Gal-9 reached nanomolar values (IC50 = 970 nM), being a 1400-fold more effective inhibitor than monovalent lactose for this protein. This demonstrates a game-changing impact of multivalent presentation on the inhibitory effect of a ligand as simple as lactose. Moreover, using DLS hydrodynamic diameter measurements, we correlated the increased affinity of the glycodendrimer ligands to Gal-3 and Gal-8 but especially to Gal-9 with the formation of relatively uniform and stable galectin/Lac-CS-DDM aggregates.

Selectively Deoxyfluorinated N-Acetyllactosamine Analogues as 19 F NMR Probes to Study Carbohydrate-Galectin Interactions.

Galectins are widely expressed galactose-binding lectins implied, for example, in immune regulation, metastatic spreading, and pathogen recognition. N-Acetyllactosamine (Galß1-4GlcNAc, LacNAc) and its oligomeric or glycosylated forms are natural ligands of galectins. To probe substrate specificity and binding mode of galectins, we synthesized a complete series of six mono-deoxyfluorinated analogues of LacNAc, in which each hydroxyl has been selectively replaced by fluorine while the anomeric position has been protected as methyl ß-glycoside. Initial evaluation of their binding to human galectin-1 and -3 by ELISA and 19 F NMR T2 -filter revealed that deoxyfluorination at C3, C4' and C6' completely abolished binding to galectin-1 but very weak binding to galectin-3 was still detectable. Moreover, deoxyfluorination of C2' caused an approximately 8-fold increase in the binding affinity towards galectin-1, whereas binding to galectin-3 was essentially not affected. Lipophilicity measurement revealed that deoxyfluorination at the Gal moiety affects log P very differently compared to deoxyfluorination at the GlcNAc moiety.

Development of α-Selective Glycosylation for the Synthesis of Deoxyfluorinated TN Antigen Analogues.

The Tn antigen (GalNAcα1-Thr/Ser) is abundantly expressed in many tumors but rarely found in healthy tissues, which makes it an attractive epitope for antitumor immunotherapy. The use of the Tn antigen in the development of therapeutic antitumor vaccines is hampered by its low immunogenicity, which may be enhanced by deoxyfluorination of the GalNAc moiety. Here, we report the synthesis of protected 3- and 4-fluoro analogues of the threonine-containing Tn antigen. As the stereoselective synthesis of α-linked fluorinated GalNAc is difficult, we prepared a panel of C3 and C4 deoxyfluorinated galactosazide thiodonors and evaluated their stereoselectivity in the glycosylation of carbohydrate acceptors and threonine derivatives. Glycosylation of threonine derivatives with O-benzylated C4 fluoro donors gave only modest but usable α-selectivity of α/ß = 2.5-3/1. The use of acyl and silyl protection at the 3- and 6-positions of the C4 fluoro donors did not enhance the selectivity. Installing a 4,6-di-tert-butylsilylene-protecting group in C3 fluoro donors resulted in exclusive α-selectivity and reaffirmed the strong α-directing effect of this protective group in glycosylation with galacto-configured glycosyl donors.

The effect of deoxyfluorination and O-acylation on the cytotoxicity of N-acetyl-D-gluco- and D-galactosamine hemiacetals.

Fully acetylated deoxyfluorinated hexosamine analogues and non-fluorinated 3,4,6-tri-O-acylated N-acetyl-hexosamine hemiacetals have previously been shown to display moderate anti-proliferative activity. We prepared a set of deoxyfluorinated GlcNAc and GalNAc hemiacetals that comprised both features: O-acylation at the non-anomeric positions with an acetyl, propionyl and butanoyl group, and deoxyfluorination at selected positions. Determination of the in vitro cytotoxicity towards the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer and HEK-293 cell lines showed that deoxyfluorination enhanced cytotoxicity in most analogues. Increasing the ester alkyl chain length had a variable effect on the cytotoxicity of fluoro analogues, which contrasted with non-fluorinated hemiacetals where butanoyl derivatives had always higher cytotoxicity than acetates. Reaction with 2-phenylethanethiol indicated that the recently described S-glyco-modification is an unlikely cause of cytotoxicity.

Synthesis of multiply fluorinated N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-galactosamine analogs via the corresponding deoxyfluorinated glucosazide and galactosazide phenyl thioglycosides.

Multiple fluorination of glycostructures has emerged as an attractive way of modulating their protein affinity, metabolic stability, and lipophilicity. Here we described the synthesis of a series of mono-, di- and trifluorinated N-acetyl-ᴅ-glucosamine and ᴅ-galactosamine analogs. The key intermediates are the corresponding multiply fluorinated glucosazide and galactosazide thioglycosides prepared from deoxyfluorinated 1,6-anhydro-2-azido-ß-ᴅ-hexopyranose precursors by ring-opening reaction with phenyl trimethylsilyl sulfide. Nucleophilic deoxyfluorination at C4 and C6 by reaction with DAST, thioglycoside hydrolysis and azide/acetamide transformation completed the synthesis.

Use of remote acyl groups for stereoselective 1,2-cis-glycosylation with fluorinated glucosazide thiodonors.

Fluorinated glycans are valuable probes for studying carbohydrate-protein interactions at the atomic level. Glucosamine is a ubiquitous component of glycans, and the stereoselective synthesis of α-linked fluorinated glucosamine is a challenge associated with the chemical synthesis of fluorinated glycans. We found that introducing a 6-O-acyl protecting group onto 3-fluoro and 4-fluoro glucosazide thiodonors endowed them with moderate α-selectivity in the glycosylation of carbohydrate acceptors, which was further improved by adjusting the acceptor reactivity via O-benzoylation. Excellent stereoselectivity was achieved for 3,6-di-O-acyl-4-fluoro analogues. The glycosylation of threonine-derived acceptors enabled the stereoselective synthesis of the protected fluorinated analogue of α-GlcNAc-O-Thr, a moiety abundant in cell-surface O-glycans of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. DFT calculations supported the involvement of transient cationic species which resulted from the stabilization of the oxocarbenium ion through O-6 acyl group participation.

Stereoselectivity in Glycosylation with Deoxofluorinated Glucosazide and Galactosazide Thiodonors.

Control of anomeric stereoselectivity in glycosylation with deoxofluorinated glycosyl donors is critical for assembly of fluorinated oligosaccharides. Here, we report the synthesis of benzylated 3-fluoro and 4-fluoro analogues of phenyl 1-thioglucosazide and galactosazide donors and evaluation of their stereoselectivity in glycosylation of a series of model carbohydrate acceptors using the Tf2O/Ph2SO promoter system. Low-temperature NMR revealed formation of covalent α-triflate and both anomers of oxosulfonium triflates under selected glycosylation conditions. This study demonstrates how the stereoselectivity depends on acceptor reactivity and glycosyl donor configuration. Reactive acceptors favor formation of 1,2- trans-ß-glycosides with both d- gluco and d- galacto donors, whereas poorly reactive acceptors favor formation of 1,2- cis-α-glycosides with d- galacto donors but are unselective with d- gluco donors.