Mannose‐Binding Geometry of Pradimicin A

Pradimicins (PRMs) and benanomicins are the only family of non‐peptidic natural products with lectin‐like properties, that is, they recognize D ‐mannopyranoside (Man) in the presence of Ca²⁺ ions. Coupled with their unique Man binding ability, they exhibit antifungal and anti‐HIV activities through binding to Man‐containing glycans of pathogens. Notwithstanding the great potential of PRMs as the lectin mimics and therapeutic leads, their molecular basis of Man recognition has yet to be established. Their aggregate‐forming propensity has impeded conventional interaction analysis in solution, and the analytical difficulty is exacerbated by the existence of two Man binding sites in PRMs. In this work, we investigated the geometry of the primary Man binding of PRM‐A, an original member of PRMs, by the recently developed analytical strategy using the solid aggregate composed of the 1:1 complex of PRM‐A and Man. Evaluation of intermolecular distances by solid‐state NMR spectroscopy revealed that the C2–C4 region of Man is in close contact with the primary binding site of PRM‐A, while the C1 and C6 positions of Man are relatively distant. The binding geometry was further validated by co‐precipitation experiments using deoxy‐Man derivatives, leading to the proposal that PRM‐A binds not only to terminal Man residues at the non‐reducing end of glycans, but also to internal 6‐substituted Man residues. The present study provides new insights into the molecular basis of Man recognition and glycan specificity of PRM‐A.