A double regio- and stereoselective glycosylation strategy for the synthesis of N-glycans

A building block approach for biantennary N-linked oligosaccharides from glycoproteins (N-glycans) has been developed. Starting from a core trisaccharide (beta-mannosyl chitobiose) containing a benzylidene-protected beta-mannoside, the attachment of the disaccharide building blocks for the antennae can be performed in a double regio- and stereoselective manner. A short synthesis of a GlcNPhtbeta1,2Man donor was developed. The benzylidene acetal moiety, as a minimal protection of the beta-mannoside, allows selective alpha-glycosylation at OH-3 of the 2,3-diol with GlcNbeta1,2Man trichloroacetimidate donors. Subsequent debenzylidenation leads to a 4,6-diol, which can be selectively extended at OH-6. Overreaction at OH-4 was generally low when phthalimido-protected donors were used. This general strategy represents a modular synthesis of N-glycans and their glycoconjugates.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sialylated glycopeptides derived from mucins and T-cell stimulating peptides.

The Tn, T, sialyl-Tn, and 2,3-sialyl-T antigens are tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens expressed on mucins in epithelial cancers, such as those affecting the breast, ovary, stomach, and colon. Glycopeptides carrying these antigens are of interest for development of cancer vaccines and a short, chemoenzymatic strategy for their synthesis is reported. Building blocks corresponding to the Tn (GalNAc alpha-Ser/Thr) and T [Gal beta(1-->3)GalNAc alpha-Ser/Thr] antigens, which are relatively easy to obtain by chemical synthesis, were prepared and then used in the synthesis of glycopeptides on the solid phase. Introduction of sialic acid to give the sialyl-Tn [Neu5Ac alpha(2-->6)GalNAc alpha-Ser/Thr] and 2,3-sialyl-T [Neu5Ac alpha(2-->3)Gal beta(1-->3)GalNAc alpha-Ser/Thr] antigens is difficult when performed chemically at the building block level. Sialylation was therefore carried out with recombinant sialyltransferases in solution after cleavage of the Tn and T glycopeptides from the solid phase. In the same manner, the core 2 trisaccharide [Gal beta 1-->3(GlcNAc beta 1-->6)GalNAc] was incorporated in glycopeptides containing the T antigen by using a recombinant N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase. The outlined chemoenzymatic approach was applied to glycopeptides from the tandem repeat domain of the mucin MUC1, as well as to neoglycosylated derivatives of a T cell stimulating viral peptide.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of the two enantiomers of 7-azatryptophan

7-Azatryptophan is an unnatural α-amino acid with a very potent fluorescent activity. It is used as a vehicle for probing the structure and dynamics of proteins and peptides. Diastereoselective alkylation, diastereoselective protonation and enzymatic resolution have been tested for preparing enantiomerically pure 7-azatryptophan.     

Sortase A-catalyzed peptide cyclization for the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and glycopeptides

A chemoenzymatic method was developed for the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and glycopeptides. Sortase A was found to mediate either head to tail cyclization or oligomerization and then head to tail cyclization of peptides and glycopeptides, depending on the peptide length, to produce 15-mer or higher cyclic peptides and glycopeptides.     

Combinatorial synthesis of MUC1 glycopeptides: polymer blotting facilitates chemical and enzymatic synthesis of highly complicated mucin glycopeptides

The chemoselective polymer blotting method allows for rapid and efficient synthesis of glycopeptides based on a "catch and release" strategy between solid-phase and water-soluble polymer supports. We have developed a heterobifunctional linker sensitive to glutamic acid specific protease (BLase). The general procedure consists of five steps, namely (i) the solid-phase synthesis of glycopeptide containing BLase sensitive linker, (ii) subsequent deprotections and the release of the glycopeptide from the resin, (iii) chemoselective blotting of the glycopeptide intermediates in the presence of water-soluble polymers with oxylamino functional groups, (iv) sugar elongations using glycosyltransferases, and (v) the release of target glycopeptides from the polymer platform by selective BLase promoted hydrolysis. The combined use of the solid-phase chemical syntheses of peptides and the enzymatic syntheses of carbohydrates on water-soluble polymers would greatly contribute to the production of complicated glycopeptide libraries, thereby enhancing applicative research. We report here a high-throughput synthetic system for the various types of MUC1 glycopeptides exhibiting a variety of sugar moieties. It is our belief that this concept will become part of the entrenched repertoire for the synthesis of biologically important glycopeptides on the basis of glycosyltransferase reactions in automated and combinatorial syntheses.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of both enantiomers of 3-hydroxy- and 3-amino-3-phenylpropanoic acid

Ethyl (S)-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropionate (S)-2 was obtained by the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 3-phenyl-3-oxopropionate 1 with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ATCC 9080). The kinetic resolution of racemic ethyl 2-acetoxy-3-phenyl-propionate rac-3 with the same microorganism, gave after hydrolysis ethyl (R)- and (S)-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropionates (R)-2 and (S)-2 which were converted by a straightforward series of reactions to the enantiomers of 3-amino-3-phenyl-propionic acids (S)-6 and (R)-6. The asymmetric reduction and hydrolytic kinetic resolution were also tested with several other whole cell systems under a variety of conditions.     

Chemoenzymatic total synthesis of paecilocin A and 3-butyl-7-hydroxyphthalide

A highly enantioselective total synthesis of paecilocin A and 3-butyl-7-hydroxyphthalide is described. The key steps involved in this synthesis are enzymatic kinetic resolution and Alder–Rickert reaction.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of n-hexyl and O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosides

Direct beta-glucosidation between 1,6-octanediol (5) and D-glucose (3) using the immobilized beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) from almonds with the synthetic prepolymer ENTP-4000 gave a mono-beta-glucoside (6) in 61.4% yield, which was converted into the n-hexyl beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) by means of a chemoenzymatic method. The coupling of the n-hexyl beta-D-glucopyranoside congener (13) and 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-xylosyl congener (14), followed by deprotection, afforded the synthetic n-hexyl O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), which was identical to the natural 2 with respect to the spectral data and specific rotation.     

Stereoselective synthesis of 3-aminoindan-1-ones and subsequent incorporation into HIV-1 protease inhibitors

A new method for the stereoselective synthesis of 3-aminoindan-1-ones from triflates of salicylic sulfinyl imines and ethylene glycol vinyl ether has been developed. The reaction sequence starts with a regioselective Heck reaction followed by stereoselective Lewis acid mediated annulation. Acidic cleavage of the sulfinamides produced pure (R)- and (S)-3-aminoindan-1-ones, which were successfully isolated and incorporated into active HIV-1 protease inhibitors.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of O-mannosylpeptides in solution and on solid phase

O-mannosyl glycans are known to play an important role in regulating the function of α-dystroglycan (α-DG), as defective glycosylation is associated with various phenotypes of congenital muscular dystrophy. Despite the well-established biological significance of these glycans, questions regarding their precise molecular function remain unanswered. Further biological investigation will require synthetic methods for the generation of pure samples of homogeneous glycopeptides with diverse sequences. Here we describe the first total syntheses of glycopeptides containing the tetrasaccharide NeuNAcα2-3Galβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-2Manα, which is reported to be the most abundant O-mannosyl glycan on α-DG. Our approach is based on biomimetic stepwise assembly from the reducing end and also gives access to the naturally occurring mono-, di-, and trisaccharide substructures. In addition to the total synthesis, we have developed a "one-pot" enzymatic cascade leading to the rapid synthesis of the target tetrasaccharide. Finally, solid-phase synthesis of the desired glycopeptides directly on a gold microarray platform is described.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of deoxy analogues of the DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor eleutherin and the 3C-protease inhibitor thysanone

The asymmetric synthesis of (−)-9-demethoxyeleutherin 6, (+)-9-demethoxyeleutherin 7 and (+)-7,9-deoxythysanone 8 has been achieved using a microwave assisted kinetic resolution of racemic alcohol 11 with Novozyme 435^® as the key step.     

The first synthesis of peptide thioester carrying N-linked core pentasaccharide through modified Fmoc thioester preparation: synthesis of an N-glycosylated Ig domain of emmprin

Peptide thioester carrying N-linked core pentasaccharide was prepared by the Fmoc solid-phase method with a combination of the benzyl-protection strategy at the carbohydrate portion. The obtained peptide thioester was successfully used for the synthesis of the first Ig domain of emmprin composed of 61 amino acid residues.     

Enzymes in polymer chemistry, 8 Chemoenzymatic synthesis of polymerizable 11-methacryloyl-aminoundecanoic ester of 1- and 3-O-methyl-α-D-glucose in 6-O-position

The paper describes the regioselective esterification of a glucopyranoside and glucose derivative with 11-methacryloylaminoundecanoic acid in the presence of a lipase from Candida antarctica. The obtained modified sugar derivatives 6-O-(11-methacryloylaminoundecanoyl)-1-O-methyl-α-D -glucopyranoside (3 a) and 6-O-(11-methacryloylaminoundecanoyl)-3-O-methyl-α-D -glucopyranose (3 b) were polymerized radically with AIBN as initiator.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of enantiomerically enriched α-chiral 3-oxy-propionaldehydes by lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution and desymmetrization

Enantiomerically enriched phenylalanine- and leucine aldehyde analogues have been prepared by lipase catalyzed desymmetrization or kinetic resolution of 1,3-propanediol derivatives as key steps. Observations of unusual enantioselectivity were made, and most notably, Candida antarctica lipase B showed an opposite enantiopreference from other lipases, which was exploited in the synthesis. A thorough evaluation of chemoenzymatic routes to both enantiomers of the target α-chiral 3-oxy-propionaldehydes resulted in simple, inexpensive, and efficient procedures that provide the products in up to 92% enantiomeric excess and 55% total yield in five steps from easily accessible starting materials.     

A total synthesis of dimeric Lex antigen,III3V3Fuc2nLc6Cer: Pivaloyl auxiliary for stereocontrolled glycosylation

A first total synthesis of dimeric Le^x glycooctaosyl ceramide was achieved in a stereocontrolled manner. Synthetic experiments were designed so as to evidence the advantage for the use of O-2a pivaloyl over O-2a acetyl group as a stereocontrolling auxiliary.     

Solid-phase synthesis of core 3 and core 6 O-glycan-linked glycopeptides by benzyl-protection method

Core 3 and core 6 O-glycoamino acids were prepared in a protected form suited for Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). An N-trichloroacetyllactosamine derivative (2) was used as a highly β-selective glycosyl donor in 3-O-glycosylation of acceptors 3/4 and in 6-O-glycosylation of acceptors 5/6. Zn reduction of trisaccharides 7/8 and 13/14 was followed by acetylation to readily transform trichloroacetamido and azido groups to acetamido groups. Selective deprotection by Pd(0)-catalysis afforded core 3 O-glycan building blocks 11/12 and core 6 O-glycan building blocks 17/18. Usefulness of these building blocks for SPPS was demonstrated by the syntheses of the core 3-linked MUC2 tandem repeat glycopeptide and the core 6-linked glycopeptide segment of MUC6. The synthetic glycopeptides detached from the resin were debenzylated under the ‘low-acidity TfOH’ conditions.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of GM3 and GM2 gangliosides containing a truncated ceramide functionalized for glycoconjugate synthesis and solid phase applications

Analogues of GM3 and GM2 gangliosides were chemoenzymatically synthesized on a multifunctional ceramide-type tether designed to facilitate diverse strategies for glycoconjugate synthesis. The truncated ceramide aglycon maintains the stereogenic centres of natural ceramide while avoiding extensive hydrophobicity that can hamper synthesis and purification of the glycolipids. Tetanus toxoid and BSA glycoconjugates of these two gangliosides were prepared for immunization of mice, and for solid phase assays to screen for ganglioside-specific antibodies. Inhibition experiments showed that antibodies generated by tetanus toxoid conjugates of GM3 and GM2 exhibited specificity for the carbohydrate epitope and the stereogenic centres of the ceramide.