Galectin-4 Antimicrobial Activity Primarily Occurs Through its C-Terminal Domain.

Although immune tolerance evolved to reduce reactivity with self, it creates a gap in the adaptive immune response against microbes that decorate themselves in self-like antigens. This is particularly apparent with carbohydrate-based blood group antigens, wherein microbes can envelope themselves in blood group structures similar to human cells. In this study, we demonstrate that the innate immune lectin, galectin-4 (Gal-4), exhibits strain-specific binding and killing behavior towards microbes that display blood group-like antigens. Examination of binding preferences using a combination of microarrays populated with ABO(H) glycans and a variety of microbial strains, including those that express blood group-like antigens, demonstrated that Gal-4 binds mammalian and microbial antigens that have features of blood group and mammalian-like structures. Although Gal-4 was thought to exist as a monomer that achieves functional bivalency through its two linked carbohydrate recognition domains, our data demonstrate that Gal-4 forms dimers and that differences in the intrinsic ability of each domain to dimerize likely influences binding affinity. While each Gal-4 domain exhibited blood group-binding activity, the C-terminal domain (Gal-4C) exhibited dimeric properties, while the N-terminal domain (Gal-4N) failed to similarly display dimeric activity. Gal-4C not only exhibited the ability to dimerize but also possessed higher affinity toward ABO(H) blood group antigens and microbes expressing glycans with blood group-like features. Furthermore, when compared to Gal-4N, Gal-4C exhibited more potent antimicrobial activity. Even in the context of the full-length protein, where Gal-4N is functionally bivalent by virtue of Gal-4C dimerization, Gal-4C continued to display higher antimicrobial activity. These results demonstrate that Gal-4 exists as a dimer and exhibits its antimicrobial activity primarily through its C-terminal domain. In doing so, these data provide important insight into key features of Gal-4 responsible for its innate immune activity against molecular mimicry.

Tunable Strategy for the Asymmetric Synthesis of Sulfoglycolipids from Mycobacterium tuberculosis To Elucidate the Structure and Immunomodulatory Property Relationships.

We developed a versatile asymmetric strategy to synthesize different classes of sulfoglycolipids (SGLs) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The strategy features the use of asymmetrically protected trehaloses, which were acquired from the glycosylation of TMS α-glucosyl acceptors with benzylidene-protected thioglucosyl donors. The positions of the protecting groups at the donors and acceptors can be fine-tuned to obtain different protecting-group patterns, which is crucial for regioselective acylation and sulfation. In addition, a chemoenzymatic strategy was established to prepare the polymethylated fatty acid building blocks. The strategy employs inexpensive lipase as a desymmetrization agent in the preparation of the starting substrate and readily available chiral oxazolidinone as a chirality-controlling agent in the construction of the polymethylated fatty acids. A subsequent investigation on the immunomodulatory properties of each class of SGLs showed how the structures of SGLs impact the host innate immunity response.

Dissecting the Structure-Activity Relationship of Galectin-Ligand Interactions.

Galectins are ß-galactoside-binding proteins. As carbohydrate-binding proteins, they participate in intracellular trafficking, cell adhesion, and cell-cell signaling. Accumulating evidence indicates that they play a pivotal role in numerous physiological and pathological activities, such as the regulation on cancer progression, inflammation, immune response, and bacterial and viral infections. Galectins have drawn much attention as targets for therapeutic interventions. Several molecules have been developed as galectin inhibitors. In particular, TD139, a thiodigalactoside derivative, is currently examined in clinical trials for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Herein, we provide an in-depth review on the development of galectin inhibitors, aiming at the dissection of the structure-activity relationship to demonstrate how inhibitors interact with galectin(s). We especially integrate the structural information established by X-ray crystallography with several biophysical methods to offer, not only in-depth understanding at the molecular level, but also insights to tackle the existing challenges.

Galectins induced from hemocytes bridge phosphatidylserine and N-glycosylated Drpr/CED-1 receptor during dendrite pruning.

During neuronal pruning, phagocytes engulf shed cellular debris to avoid inflammation and maintain tissue homeostasis. How phagocytic receptors recognize degenerating neurites had been unclear. Here, we identify two glucosyltransferases Alg8 and Alg10 of the N-glycosylation pathway required for dendrite fragmentation and clearance through genetic screen. The scavenger receptor Draper (Drpr) is N-glycosylated with complex- or hybrid-type N-glycans that interact specifically with galectins. We also identify the galectins Crouching tiger (Ctg) and Hidden dragon (Hdg) that interact with N-glycosylated Drpr and function in dendrite pruning via the Drpr pathway. Ctg and Hdg are required in hemocytes for expression and function, and are induced during dendrite injury to localize to injured dendrites through specific interaction with exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) on the surface membrane of injured dendrites. Thus, the galectins Ctg and Hdg bridge the interaction between PS and N-glycosylated Drpr, leading to the activation of phagocytosis.

S-glutathionylation of Hsp90 enhances its degradation and correlates with favorable prognosis of breast cancer.

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a ubiquitous chaperone to interact with numerous proteins to regulate multiple cellular processes, especially during cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Hsp90 exists in a high level in tumor cells and tissues, and thus serves as a prognostic biomarker or therapeutic target in cancers. We herein report that Hsp90 is subjected to S-glutathionylation, a redox-dependent modification to form a disulfide bond between the tripeptide glutathione and cysteine residues of proteins, primarily at C366 and C412 in the presence of reactive oxygen species. The modification led to the loss of the ATPase activity. The level of Hsp90 was obviously reduced by S-glutathionylation, owing to C-terminus of Hsc70-interacting protein (CHIP)-mediated ubiquitin proteasome system. S-glutathionylation of Hsp90 was found to crosstalk with its C-terminal phosphorylation of Hsp90 that impedes the binding of Hsp90 with CHIP, demonstrating the importance of chaperone code in modulating Hsp90 function. Further biophysical analyses indicated that S-glutathionylation caused structural change of Hsp90, underlying the aforementioned functional regulation. Moreover, in accordance with the analysis of 64 samples collected from patients of breast cancer, the expression level of Hsp90 inversely correlated with the glutathionylated status of Hsp90. The ratio of total expression to glutathionylated status of Hsp90 was coherent to expression of biomarkers in breast cancer sample, potentiating the prognostic value in the cancer treatment.

Entropy-driven binding of gut bacterial ß-glucuronidase inhibitors ameliorates irinotecan-induced toxicity.

Irinotecan inhibits cell proliferation and thus is used for the primary treatment of colorectal cancer. Metabolism of irinotecan involves incorporation of ß-glucuronic acid to facilitate excretion. During transit of the glucuronidated product through the gastrointestinal tract, an induced upregulation of gut microbial ß-glucuronidase (GUS) activity may cause severe diarrhea and thus force many patients to stop treatment. We herein report the development of uronic isofagomine (UIFG) derivatives that act as general, potent inhibitors of bacterial GUSs, especially those of Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. The best inhibitor, C6-nonyl UIFG, is 23,300-fold more selective for E. coli GUS than for human GUS (Ki = 0.0045 and 105 µM, respectively). Structural evidence indicated that the loss of coordinated water molecules, with the consequent increase in entropy, contributes to the high affinity and selectivity for bacterial GUSs. The inhibitors also effectively reduced irinotecan-induced diarrhea in mice without damaging intestinal epithelial cells.

Substituent Position of Iminocyclitols Determines the Potency and Selectivity for Gut Microbial Xenobiotic-Reactivating Enzymes.

Selective inhibitors of gut bacterial ß-glucuronidases (GUSs) are of particular interest in the prevention of xenobiotic-induced toxicities. This study reports the first structure-activity relationships on potency and selectivity of several iminocyclitols (2-7) for the GUSs. Complex structures of Ruminococcus gnavus GUS with 2-7 explained how charge, conformation, and substituent of iminocyclitols affect their potency and selectivity. N1 of uronic isofagomine (2) made strong electrostatic interactions with two catalytic glutamates of GUSs, resulting in the most potent inhibition (Ki ≥ 11 nM). C6-propyl analogue of 2 (6) displayed 700-fold selectivity for opportunistic bacterial GUSs (Ki = 74 nM for E. coli GUS and 51.8 µM for RgGUS). In comparison with 2, there was 200-fold enhancement in the selectivity, which was attributed to differential interactions between the propyl group and loop 5 residues of the GUSs. The results provide useful insights to develop potent and selective inhibitors for undesired GUSs.

ß-Glucuronidases of opportunistic bacteria are the major contributors to xenobiotic-induced toxicity in the gut.

Gut bacterial ß-D-glucuronidases (GUSs) catalyze the removal of glucuronic acid from liver-produced ß-D-glucuronides. These reactions can have deleterious consequences when they reverse xenobiotic metabolism. The human gut contains hundreds of GUSs of variable sequences and structures. To understand how any particular bacterial GUS(s) contributes to global GUS activity and affects human health, the individual substrate preference(s) must be known. Herein, we report that representative GUSs vary in their ability to produce various xenobiotics from their respective glucuronides. To attempt to explain the distinct substrate preference, we solved the structure of a bacterial GUS complexed with coumarin-3-ß-D-glucuronide. Comparisons of this structure with other GUS structures identified differences in loop 3 (or the α2-helix loop) and loop 5 at the aglycone-binding site, where differences in their conformations, hydrophobicities and flexibilities appear to underlie the distinct substrate preference(s) of the GUSs. Additional sequence, structural and functional analysis indicated that several groups of functionally related gut bacterial GUSs exist. Our results pinpoint opportunistic gut bacterial GUSs as those that cause xenobiotic-induced toxicity. We propose a structure-activity relationship that should allow both the prediction of the functional roles of GUSs and the design of selective inhibitors.

Dual thio-digalactoside-binding modes of human galectins as the structural basis for the design of potent and selective inhibitors.

Human galectins are promising targets for cancer immunotherapeutic and fibrotic disease-related drugs. We report herein the binding interactions of three thio-digalactosides (TDGs) including TDG itself, TD139 (3,3'-deoxy-3,3'-bis-(4-[m-fluorophenyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-thio-digalactoside, recently approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis), and TAZTDG (3-deoxy-3-(4-[m-fluorophenyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-thio-digalactoside) with human galectins-1, -3 and -7 as assessed by X-ray crystallography, isothermal titration calorimetry and NMR spectroscopy. Five binding subsites (A-E) make up the carbohydrate-recognition domains of these galectins. We identified novel interactions between an arginine within subsite E of the galectins and an arene group in the ligands. In addition to the interactions contributed by the galactosyl sugar residues bound at subsites C and D, the fluorophenyl group of TAZTDG preferentially bound to subsite B in galectin-3, whereas the same group favored binding at subsite E in galectins-1 and -7. The characterised dual binding modes demonstrate how binding potency, reported as decreased Kd values of the TDG inhibitors from µM to nM, is improved and also offer insights to development of selective inhibitors for individual galectins.

Structural Basis Underlying the Binding Preference of Human Galectins-1, -3 and -7 for Galß1-3/4GlcNAc.

Galectins represent ß-galactoside-binding proteins and are known to bind Galß1-3/4GlcNAc disaccharides (abbreviated as LN1 and LN2, respectively). Despite high sequence and structural homology shared by the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of all galectin members, how each galectin displays different sugar-binding specificity still remains ambiguous. Herein we provided the first structural evidence of human galectins-1, 3-CRD and 7 in complex with LN1. Galectins-1 and 3 were shown to have higher affinity for LN2 than for LN1, while galectin-7 displayed the reversed specificity. In comparison with the previous LN2-complexed structures, the results indicated that the average glycosidic torsion angle of galectin-bound LN1 (ψ(LN1) ≈ 135°) was significantly differed from that of galectin-bound LN2 (ψ(LN2 )≈ -108°), i.e. the GlcNAc moiety adopted a different orientation to maintain essential interactions. Furthermore, we also identified an Arg-Asp/Glu-Glu-Arg salt-bridge network and the corresponding loop (to position the second Asp/Glu residue) critical for the LN1/2-binding preference.

Synthesis of oligomeric mannosides and their structure-binding relationship with concanavalin†A.

Small glycodendrimers with α-mannosyl ligands were synthesized by using copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne coupling chemistry and some of these molecules were used as multivalent ligands to study the induction of concanavalin A (Con A) precipitation. The results showed that the monovalent mannose ligand could induce the precipitation of Con A. This unexpected finding initiated a series of studies to characterize the molecular basis of the ligand-lectin interaction. The atypical precipitation is found to be specific to the mannose, fluorescein moiety (FITC), and Con A. Apparently the mannose ligand binds to Con A through hydrogen-bonding interactions, whereas the binding of FITC is mediated by hydrophobic forces.