Exploring the Dual Functions of Distal Acyl Group Direction in Various Nucleophilic Environments.

A universal glycosylation strategy could significantly simplify glycoside synthesis. One approach to achieving this goal is through acyl group direction for the corresponding 1,2-, 1,3-, 1,4-, or 1,6-trans glycosylation; however, this approach has been challenging for glycosidic bonds that require distal equatorial-acyl group direction. We developed an approach in weakly nucleophilic environments for selective 1,4-trans glycosylation directed by the equatorial-4-O-acyl group. Here, we explored this condition in other distal acyl groups and found that, besides 1,n-trans direction, acyl groups also mediated hydrogen bonding between acyl groups and alcohols. The latter showed a diverse effect and classified the acyl group direction into axial and equatorial categories. Corresponding glycosylation conditions were distinguished as guidance for acyl group direction from either category. Hence, acyl group direction may serve as a general glycosylation strategy.

Rhamnose-Containing Compounds: Biosynthesis and Applications.

Rhamnose-associated molecules are attracting attention because they are present in bacteria but not mammals, making them potentially useful as antibacterial agents. Additionally, they are also valuable for tumor immunotherapy. Thus, studies on the functions and biosynthetic pathways of rhamnose-containing compounds are in progress. In this paper, studies on the biosynthetic pathways of three rhamnose donors, i.e., deoxythymidinediphosphate-L-rhamnose (dTDP-Rha), uridine diphosphate-rhamnose (UDP-Rha), and guanosine diphosphate rhamnose (GDP-Rha), are firstly reviewed, together with the functions and crystal structures of those associated enzymes. Among them, dTDP-Rha is the most common rhamnose donor, and four enzymes, including glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase RmlA, dTDP-Glc-4,6-dehydratase RmlB, dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-Glc-3,5-epimerase RmlC, and dTDP-4-keto-Rha reductase RmlD, are involved in its biosynthesis. Secondly, several known rhamnosyltransferases from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Saccharopolyspora spinosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are discussed. In these studies, however, the functions of rhamnosyltransferases were verified by employing gene knockout and radiolabeled substrates, which were almost impossible to obtain and characterize the products of enzymatic reactions. Finally, the application of rhamnose-containing compounds in disease treatments is briefly described.

Reinvestigation of N,N-Diacetylimido-Protected 2-Aminothioglycosides in O-Glycosylation: Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonds Contributing to 1,2-Orthoamide Formation.

N,N-Diacetylimido protection of 2-aminoglycosides is an elegant strategy but has had limited applications due to unexpected side reactions in glycosylation. We found that high acid concentrations could diminish the side reactions. We observed intermolecular hydrogen bonding among alcohols and acids could disrupt. Assuming that intermolecular hydrogen bonding accelerates the formation of 1,2-orthoamides and disrupting intermolecular hydrogen bonds could turn to the desired glycosylation, we successfully employed sulfenyl triflate pre-activation in the glycosylation of a broad scope of alcohol acceptors, as well as in a one-pot synthesis of a protected human milk oligosaccharide, lacto-N-neotetraose.

Improved α-Sialylation through the Synergy of 5-N,4-O-Oxazolidinone Protection and Exocyclic C-1 Neighboring Group Participation.

Stereoselective construction of α-sialyl linkages is one of the most significant challenges in carbohydrate chemistry. In this research, we developed a novel strategy for stereoselective synthesis of α-linked sialosides by protecting the 5-N,4-O-positions of a sialyl donor with an oxazolidinone group and its C-1 carboxylic functionality with a cyanoethyl ester to promote α-glycosylation. We also adopted the more electrophilic N-bromosuccinimide as a promoter to readily activate p-tolyl thiosialoside at -78 °C. The sialylation using this sialyl donor gave excellent yields and α-selectivity. The new synthetic method was used to successfully construct naturally occurring α-sialosides having sialic acid linked to the 6-O- or 3-O-position of galactoside, or 8-O-position of another sialic acid, respectively, as well as other α-linked sialosides.

Synthesis of the Oligosaccharides of Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. mallei Capsular Polysaccharide and Preliminary Immunological Studies of Their Protein Conjugates.

Efficient strategies were developed for the synthesis of 6-deoxy-d-manno-heptopyranose and its ß-(1 → 3)-linked oligomers as fragments of the common and major capsular polysaccharide, type I O-PS, of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei. The unusual heptose was synthesized from mannose, highlighted by the facile Wittig reaction and anti-Markovnikov hydroboration of the resultant olefin. The difficult ß-mannosidic linkage in the oligosaccharides was achieved in high stereoselectivity by H-bond-mediated aglycone delivery. All of the oligosaccharides were conjugated with the carrier protein CRM197. Preliminary immunological evaluations of the resultant glycoconjugates in mice verified their efficacy to elicit high titers of immunoglobulin G antibodies and robust T-cell-dependent immune responses. It was also found that the trisaccharide conjugates provoked the strongest immune responses, worthy of further in-depth study for vaccine development.

Converting a ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase into two trans-ß-N-acetylhexosaminidases by domain-targeted mutagenesis.

We have recently derived a ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase, BbhI, from Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM 1254, which could regioselectively synthesize GlcNAcß1-3Galß1-4Glc with a yield of 44.9%. Here, directed evolution of BbhI by domain-targeted mutagenesis was carried out. Firstly, the GH20 domain was selected for random mutagenesis using MEGAWHOP method and a small library of 1300 clones was created. A total of 734 colonies with reduced hydrolytic activity were isolated, and three mutants with elevated transglycosylation yields, GlcNAcß1-3Galß1-4Glc yields of 68.5%, 74.7%, and 81.1%, respectively, were obtained. Subsequently, nineteen independent mutants were constructed according to all the mutation sites in these three mutants. After transglycosylation analysis, Asp714 and Trp773 were identified as key residues for improvement in transglycosylation ability and were chosen for the second round of directed evolution by site-saturation mutagenesis. Two most efficient mutants D714T and W773R that acted as trans-ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase were finally achieved. D714T with the substitution at the putative nucleophile assistant residue Asp714 by threonine showed high yield of 84.7% with unobserved hydrolysis towards transglycosylation product. W773R with arginine substitution at Trp773 residue locating at the entrance of catalytic cavity led to the yield up to 81.8%. The kcat/Km values of D714T and W773R for hydrolysis of pNP-ß-GlcNAc displayed drastic decreases. NMR investigation of protein-substrate interaction revealed an invariable mode of the catalytic cavity of D714T, W773R, and WT BbhI. The collective motions of protein model showed the mutations Thr714 and Arg773 exerted little effect on the dynamics of the inside but a large effect on the dynamics of the outside of catalytic cavity.

Biochemical studies of a ß-1,4-rhamnoslytransferase from Streptococcus pneumonia serotype 23F.

A new ß-rhamnoslytransferase Cps23FT from Streptococcus pneumonia serotype 23F was expressed and characterized. Its enzymatic activity and function were confirmed for the first time by utilizing enzymatically prepared dTDP-Rha and chemically synthesized Glcα-PP-(CH2)11-OPh as substrates. This reaction gave the desired disaccharide Rhaß-1,4-Glcα-PP-(CH2)11-OPh in a good isolated yield (67%), suggesting the potential of Cps23FT as a tool enzyme for the synthesis of complex oligosaccharides containing difficult ß-rhamnosyl linkages. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis of Cps23FT disclosed that its 271DKD273 motif was critical for the enzymatic activity and most likely the binding site for the required divalent metal cation.

Synthesis and Immunological Studies of Oligosaccharides that Consist of the Repeating Unit of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 3 Capsular Polysaccharide.

A highly convergent and efficient strategy was developed for the chemical synthesis of complex oligosaccharides of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3 capsular polysaccharides that contain multiple glucuronic acid units. Once the oligoglucosides were efficiently and stereoselectively assembled, the designated glucose units were regioselectively oxidized to glucuronic acid in one step at the final synthetic stage, which helped avoid difficult glycosylations that involved glucuronic acid. The target oligosaccharides had a free amino group at the reducing terminus and varied caps at the non-reducing terminus to enable further modification and structure-activity relationship studies. Immunological evaluations of the oligosaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugates showed that they elicited robust T-cell-dependent immunoglobulin G antibody responses and that the sugar chain length had a major impact on their immunological properties. In particular, the penta- and hexasaccharides were identified as promising antigens for vaccine development.

Chemical Synthesis of the Repeating Unit of Type II Group B Streptococcus Capsular Polysaccharide.

The first chemical synthesis of the repeating unit of serotype II group B Streptococcus capsular polysaccharide, a branched heptasaccharide α-Neu p5Ac-(2→3)-ß-d-Gal p-(1→4)-ß-d-GlcN pAc-(1→3)-{[ß-d-Gal p-(1→6)]-ß-d-Gal p}-(1→4)-ß-d-Glc p-(1→3)-ß-d-Glc p-(1→, was achieved by convergent [4+2+1] glycosylation, after probing different synthetic strategies and overcoming a series of difficulties. The title compound was designed to carry a free amino group at its downstream end to enable further regioselective elaboration. This work also revealed that the α-Neu5Ac-(2→3)-ß-d-Gal-(1→4)-ß-d-GlcNAc motif, which is common in natural glycans, had a low reactivity as glycosyl donors, so it was rather difficult to directly couple this trisaccharide with sterically hindered acceptors. The motif was efficiently constructed via on-site glycan elongation using properly protected GlcN and α-Neu5Ac-(2→3)-ß-d-Gal as consecutive glycosyl donors.

Synthesis and Immunological Comparison of Differently Linked Lipoarabinomannan Oligosaccharide-Monophosphoryl Lipid A Conjugates as Antituberculosis Vaccines.

A monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) derivative having the 6'-OH group substituted with an NH2 group was synthesized and coupled with the upstream terminal tetrasaccharide of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan (LAM) via an amide bond to create a novel type of MPLA-based fully synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine. The same tetrasaccharide was also coupled with MPLA at the 1-O-position. Immunological activities of the two synthetic conjugates were evaluated in mice and compared. Both afforded robust overall and IgG antibody responses, but intraperitoneal injection elicited responses significantly stronger than those from subcutaneous injection. It was thus speculated that MPLA conjugates might act via stimulating B1 lymphocytes present in the intrapleural and peritoneal cavities. Moreover, the 6'-N-conjugate afforded antibody titers much higher than those of the 1-O-conjugate. These results revealed not only the self-adjuvant property of MPLA conjugates to elicit robust IgG antibody responses but also the impact of MPLA structure on the immunological activity of its conjugates. It was concluded that LAM oligosaccharide-MPLA conjugates, especially 6'-N-linked, are promising candidates as antituberculosis vaccines worthy of further investigation. Additionally, the 6'-amino derivative of MPLA was proved to be a useful carrier for the development of fully synthetic carbohydrate-based conjugate vaccines.

Biochemical studies of inositol N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase involved in mycothiol biosynthesis in Corynebacterium diphtheria.

Mycothiol (MSH) is the predominant low molecular weight thiol produced by actinomycetes, and it plays a pivotal role in the bacterial detoxication process. 1L-myo-Inositol-1-phosphate (1L-Ins-1-P) α-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAc-T), known as MshA, is the only glycosyltransferase involved in MSH biosynthesis. In this work, the MshA from Corynebacterium diphtheria, named as CdMshA, was expressed, purified, and studied in detail. Its enzymatic activity to transfer GlcNAc to 1L-Ins-1-P was confirmed by the isolation and rigorous characterization of its reaction product 3-phospho-1-d-myo-inositol-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-d-glucopyranoside. CdMshA was shown to accept only UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as its substrates among various tested glycosyl donors, such as UDP-GlcNAc, UDP-Gal, UDP-Glc, UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcA, and glycosyl acceptors, such as myo-inositol, 1L-Ins-1-P and 1D-Ins-1-P. The results have demonstrated the strict substrate selectivity of CdMshA. Furthermore, its reaction kinetics with UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as substrates were characterized, while site-directed mutagenesis of CdMshA disclosed that its amino acid residues N28, K81 and R157 were essential for its enzymatic activity.

Efficient synthesis of tyrosol galactosides by the ß-galactosidase from Enterobacter cloacae B5.

In this work, the ß-galactosidase from Enterobacter cloacae B5 (BgaB5) exhibited excellent transglycosylation activity toward tyrosol (p-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol) when using lactose as the glycosyl donor, generating a series of tyrosol glycosides with potential pharmacological properties. The effects of substrate concentration, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the transglycosylation reaction catalyzed by the enzyme BgaB5 were studied in detail. Three tyrosol derivatives were produced in a total high yield of 50.0% when incubating the enzyme with 250 mM tyrosol and 1000 mM lactose (pH 7.5) at 50 °C for 5 min. These derivatives were subsequently purified by column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. MS analysis of the purified compounds suggested one monogalactoside (M r 300) and two digalactoside derivatives (M r 462). The following NMR analysis further identified them to be p-hydroxyphenethyl ß-D-galactopyranoside, p-hydroxyphenethyl ß-D- galactopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 3')-ß-D-galactopyranoside, and p-hydroxyphenethyl ß-D- galactopyranosyl-(1 â†’ 6')-ß-D-galactopyranoside, respectively. The yield of the tyrosol monogalactoside which was known to possess potent bioactivities reached 39.4%, higher than other enzymatic yields reported so far. The two digalactosides, which were expected to have potential applications for novel drug screening and discovery, were artificially obtained with 10.6% yield for the first time.

Efficient and Regioselective Synthesis of ß-GalNAc/GlcNAc-Lactose by a Bifunctional Transglycosylating ß-N-Acetylhexosaminidase from Bifidobacterium bifidum.

UNLABELLED: ß-N-Acetylhexosaminidases have attracted interest particularly for oligosaccharide synthesis, but their use remains limited by the rarity of enzyme sources , low efficiency, and relaxed regioselectivity of transglycosylation. In this work, genes of 13 ß-N-acetylhexosaminidases, including 5 from Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, 5 from Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124, and 3 from Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM 1254, were cloned and heterogeneously expressed in Escherichia coli The resulting recombinant enzymes were purified and screened for transglycosylation activity. A ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase named BbhI, which belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 20 and was obtained from B. bifidum JCM 1254, possesses the bifunctional property of efficiently transferring both GalNAc and GlcNAc residues through ß1-3 linkage to the Gal residue of lactose. The effects of initial substrate concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction time on transglycosylation activities of BbhI were studied in detail. With the use of 10 mM pNP-ß-GalNAc or 20 mM pNP-ß-GlcNAc as the donor and 400 mM lactose as the acceptor in phosphate buffer (pH 5.8), BbhI synthesized GalNAcß1-3Galß1-4Glc and GlcNAcß1-3Galß1-4Glc at maximal yields of 55.4% at 45°C and 4 h and 44.9% at 55°C and 1.5 h, respectively. The model docking of BbhI with lactose showed the possible molecular basis of strict regioselectivity of ß1-3 linkage in ß-N-acetylhexosaminyl lactose synthesis. IMPORTANCE: Oligosaccharides play a crucial role in many biological events and therefore are promising potential therapeutic agents. However, their use is limited because large-scale production of oligosaccharides is difficult. The chemical synthesis requires multiple protecting group manipulations to control the regio- and stereoselectivity of glycosidic bonds. In comparison, enzymatic synthesis can produce oligosaccharides in one step by using glycosyltransferases and glycosidases. Given the lower price of their glycosyl donor and their broader acceptor specificity, glycosidases are more advantageous than glycosyltransferases for large-scale synthesis. ß-N-Acetylhexosaminidases have attracted interest particularly for ß-N-acetylhexosaminyl oligosaccharide synthesis, but their application is affected by having few enzyme sources, low efficiency, and relaxed regioselectivity of transglycosylation. In this work, we describe a microbial ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase that exhibited strong transglycosylation activity and strict regioselectivity for ß-N-acetylhexosaminyl lactose synthesis and thus provides a powerful synthetic tool to obtain biologically important GalNAcß1-3Lac and GlcNAcß1-3Lac.

Synthesis of the biological repeating unit of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 23F capsular polysaccharide.

An efficient synthesis of the 3-aminopropyl glycoside of the biological repeating unit of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 23F capsular polysaccharide (CPS) was accomplished. The synthetic target contained a tetrasaccharide with a phosphoglycerol branch. Its oligosaccharide backbone was assembled via linear glycosylation, and the challenging ß-rhamnosyl linkage in its structure was achieved stereospecifically through naphthylmethyl-assisted intramolecular aglycon delivery (IAD). The remaining 1,2-trans glycosylation reactions were executed in excellent yields and stereoselectivity based on neighboring group participation. The phosphoglycerol branch was installed by the phosphoramidite method with benzylidene-protected glycerol 2-phosphoramidite as the substrate. Eventually, the target molecule was synthesized from monosaccharide building blocks in 17 longest linear steps and a 3.85% overall yield. In addition, the synthetic target also contained a free amino group at its reducing end, facilitating its conjugation with other molecules for various biological studies and applications.

Efficient and regioselective synthesis of globotriose by a novel α-galactosidase from Bacteroides fragilis.

Globotriose (Galα1-4Galß1-4Glc) is an important cell surface epitope that acts as the receptor for Shiga-like toxins, and it is also the core structure of Globo H and SSEA4 that are tumor-associated glycans. Hence, the enzymatic synthesis of globotriose would be necessary for the development of carbohydrate-based therapeutics for bacterial infections and cancers. Here, a novel GH27 α-galactosidase gene (agaBf3S), a 1521-bp DNA encoding 506 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 57.7 kDa, from Bacteroides fragilis NCTC9343 was cloned and heterogeneously expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme AgaBf3S preferentially hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside (pNPαGal) in all tested nitrophenyl glycosides. It showed maximum activity at pH 4.5 and 40 °C, and it was stable at pH 4.0-11.0 below 40 °C and metal-independent. The K m and k cat values for pNPαGal, melibiose, and globotriose were 1.27 mM and 172.97 S(-1), 62.76 mM and 17.74 S(-1), and 4.62 mM and 388.45 S(-1), respectively. AgaBf3S could transfer galactosyl residue from pNPαGal to lactose (Galß1-4Glc) with high efficiency and strict α1-4 regioselectivity. The effects of initial substrate concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction time on transglycosylation reaction catalyzed by AgaBf3S were studied in detail. AgaBf3S could synthesize globotriose as a single transglycosylation product with a maximum yield of 32.4 % from 20 mM pNPαGal and 500 mM lactose (pH 4.5) at 40 °C for 30 min. This new one-enzyme one-step synthetic reaction is simple, fast, and low cost, which provides a promising alternative to the current synthetic methods for access to pharmaceutically important Galα1-4-linked oligosaccharides.

Synthetic and Immunological Studies of Mycobacterial Lipoarabinomannan Oligosaccharides and Their Protein Conjugates.

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is one of the major constituents of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall and an attractive molecular scaffold for antituberculosis drug and vaccine development. In this paper, a convergent strategy was developed for the synthesis of LAM oligosaccharides with an α-1,2-linked dimannopyranose cap at the nonreducing end. The strategy was highlighted by efficient coupling of separately prepared nonreducing end and reducing end oligosaccharides. Glycosylations were mainly achieved with thioglycoside donors, which gave excellent yields and stereoselectivity even for reactions between complex oligosaccharides. The strategy was utilized to successfully synthesize tetra-, hepta-, and undecasaccharides of LAM from d-arabinose in 10, 15, and 14 longest linear steps and 7.84, 7.50, and 2.59% overall yields, respectively. The resultant oligosaccharides with a free amino group at their reducing end were effectively conjugated with carrier proteins, including bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), via a bifunctional linker. Preliminary immunological studies on the KLH conjugates revealed that they could elicit robust antibody responses in mice and that the antigen structure had some influence on their immunological property, thus verifying the potential of the oligosaccharides for vaccine development and other immunological studies.

Synthesis and structural reconfirmation of bacillamide B.

A concise total synthesis of the natural product bacillamide B was accomplished in 30% overall yield starting from L-cystine. The key step was a one-pot four-step process of thiazoline formation via a cascade disulfide cleavage/thiocarbonylation/Staudinger reduction/aza-Wittig reaction using ß-azido disulfide and carboxylic acid as substrates. The absolute configuration of the natural bacillamide B was reconfirmed to be S and the specific optical rotation was revised to (-).

Synthesis and cytotoxic effect of pseudodiosgenyl saponins with thio-ring F.

Both the sugar moieties and aglycons of steroid saponins play important roles for their bioactivities. In order to test the biological contribution of the glycosyl residue and search new saponins with notable anticancer activity, mono- and di-saccharide pseudodiosgenyl saponins 22-28 together with two pseudodiosgenyl conjugates 29 and 30 were conveniently synthesized, all of which were based on the aglycon 7 bearing the thio-ring F. The cytotoxicity on human cancer cells (MCF-7, HepG-2, A549) for all of the synthesized compounds 7 and 22-30 was evaluated by MTT method. The thio-aglycon 7 when conjugated with sugars exhibited potent cytotoxicity, and the introduction of d-glucosamine into aglycon 7 led to the most potent compound 28. Furthermore, DAPI staining, AV/PI staining, AO-relocation, AO-uptake and LysoTracker Red-uptake assays demonstrated that the cell death caused by neosaponin 28 was at least partially through apoptosis involving lysosomal membrane permeabilization.

Sulfated hyaluronic acid/collagen-based biomimetic hybrid nanofiber skin for diabetic wound healing: Development and preliminary evaluation.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are one of the most serious and devastating complication of diabetes, manifesting as foot ulcers and impaired wound healing in patients with diabetes mellitus. To solve this problem, sulfated hyaluronic acid (SHA)/collagen-based nanofibrous biomimetic skins was developed and used to promote the diabetic wound healing and skin remodeling. First, SHA was successfully synthetized using chemical sulfation and incorporated into collagen (COL) matrix for preparing the SHA/COL hybrid nanofiber skins. The polyurethane (PU) was added into those hybrid scaffolds to make up the insufficient mechanical properties of SHA/COL nanofibers, the morphology, surface properties and degradation rate of hybrid nanofibers, as well as cell responses upon the nanofibrous scaffolds were studied to evaluate their potential for skin reconstruction. The results demonstrated that the SHA/COL, SHA/HA/COL hybrid nanofiber skins were stimulatory of cell behaviors, including a high proliferation rate and maintaining normal phenotypes of specific cells. Notably, SHA/COL and SHA/HA/COL hybrid nanofibers exhibited a significantly accelerated wound healing and a high skin remodeling effect in diabetic mice compared with the control group. Overall, SHA/COL-based hybrid scaffolds are promising candidates as biomimetic hybrid nanofiber skin for accelerating diabetic wound healing.

Synthesis and immunological characterization of modified hyaluronic acid hexasaccharide conjugates.

The synthesis of a tetanus toxoid (TT)-conjugate of a hyaluronic acid (HA) hexasaccharide is described. The compound was intended for use in monitoring HA levels as a disease marker and as a potential vaccine against Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections. We also report the synthesis of a chemically modified HA-hexasaccharide-TT conjugate in which the N-acetyl moiety of the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residue is replaced with an N-propionyl unit in order to enhance immunogenicity. The oligosaccharides are synthesized in a convergent manner. The TT-conjugate syntheses rely on the reaction of the amines on the 6-aminohexyl aglycon of the hexasaccharides with diethyl squarate to give the monoethyl squarate adducts. Subsequent reactions with lysine ε-amino groups on TT then give the glycoconjugates containing an average of 8 hexasaccharide haptens per TT molecule. Immunological studies in mice show very similar antibody responses with both conjugates, suggesting that the N-acetyl groups of the glucosaminyl residues of the HA-hexasaccharide are not a critical part of the epitope recognized by the anti-HA polyclonal immune response. Furthermore, it would appear that the N-acyl moieties are not in close contact with the amino acid residues of the antibody combining sites.