Effect of core-shell micelle formation on the redox properties of phenothiazine-labeled poly(ethyl glycidy ether)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)

Redox properties of phenothiazine-labeled poly(ethyl glycidy ether)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PT-EGE_n-b-EO_m) are reversibly changed by core-shell micelle formation. In the temperature range higher than the critical micellization temperature (cmt), the anodic potential of PT group positively shifts and concomitantly its anodic current decrease, or levels off compared to those of the reference polymer PT-EO_m without the thermo-responsive EGE_n segment. The former alteration is caused by incorporation of hydrophobic PT groups into a core of the micelle and the latter by the decrease in the diffusion coefficient of PT groups due to formation of the core-shell micelles. The cmt value and the temperature-dependent alteration in the redox properties strongly depend on the polymer structure, especially the length of thermo-responsive EGE_n segment. The electrochemically determined hydrodynamic radii of the polymer aggregates seem to be overestimated, compared to the values reported for the aggregates of other thermo-responsive polymers with similar molecular weights, implying the presence of electrochemically inactive PT groups in the copolymers having longer thermo-responsive segments.     

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.     

Effect of mono-CDNP substitution of lysine residues on the redox reaction of cytochrome c electrostatically adsorbed on a mercaptoheptanoic acid modified Au(111) surface

The effect of charge-inverting modification of single surface lysine residue on the electron transfer (ET) reaction of horse heart cytochrome c (cyt c) is examined for 12 different types of mono-4-chloro-2,5-dinitrobenzoic acid substituted cyt c (mCDNPc) adsorbed on a Au(111) electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 7-mercapto-heptanoic acid (MHA). A negative shift in the redox potential by 10-35 mV as compared to that of native cyt c and a monolayer coverage in the range of 13-17 pmol cm(-2) are observed for electroactive mCDNPc's. The magnitude of the decrease in the ET rate constant (k(et)) of mCDNPc's compared with that of native cyt c depends on the position of the CDNP substitution. For mCDNPc's in which the modified lysine residue is outside of the interaction domain of cyt c with the SAM, the ratio of the k(et) of mCDNPc to that of native cyt c is correlated to the change in the dipole moment vector of cyt c due to the CDNP modification. This correlation suggests that the dipole moment of cyt c determines its orientation of adsorption on the SAM of MHA and significantly affects the rate of the ET. The CDNP modification of lysine residues at the interaction domain significantly decreases the rate, demonstrating the importance of the local charge environment in determining the rate of ET.     

Synthesis of 4-fluorinated UDP-MurNAc pentapeptide as an inhibitor of bacterial growth

4-Fluorinated UDP-MurNAc pentapeptide, 2, has been synthesized. In our previous study, UDP-MurNAc pentapeptide analogue 1 was found to be incorporated into the bacterial cell wall through biosynthesis. Compound 2 showed growth-inhibition activity against Gram-positive bacteria when it was added to growth media at 0.01 mg/mL. [structure--see text]     

Structural assignment of isomeric 2-aminopyridine-derivatized oligosaccharides using negative-ion MSn spectral matching

To investigate the possibility of structural assignment based on negative-ion MS2 spectral matching, three isomeric pairs of 2-aminopyridine (PA)-derivatized non-fucosylated, fucosylated, and sialylated oligosaccharides (complex type N-glycans) were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC/ITMS) with a sonic-spray ionization (SSI) source. In the SSI negative-ion mode the deprotonated molecule [M-2H]2- becomes prominent. Negative-ion MS2 spectra derived from such ions contain many fragment types (B and Y, C and Z, A, and D) and therefore are more informative than the positive-ion MS2 spectra derived from [M+H+Na]2+ ions, which usually consist mainly of B and Y fragment ions. In particular the internal ions (D- and E-type ions) provided useful information about the alpha1-6 branching patterns and the bisecting GlcNAc residue. Spectral matching based on the correlation coefficients between negative-ion MS2 spectra was performed in a manner similar to the positive-ion MS2 spectral matching previously reported. It was demonstrated that negative-ion MS2 spectral matching is as useful and applicable to the structural assignment of relatively large non-fucosylated, fucosylated, and sialylated PA-oligosaccharide isomers as its positive-ion counterpart.     

Synthesis,conformational analysis and in vivo assays of an anti-cancer vaccine that features an unnatural antigen based on an sp2-iminosugar fragment

The Tn antigen (GalNAc-α-1-O-Thr/Ser) is a well-known tumor-associated carbohydrate determinant. The use of glycopeptides that incorporate this structure has become a significant and promising niche of research owing to their potential use as anticancer vaccines. Herein, the conformational preferences of a glycopeptide with an unnatural Tn antigen, characterized by a threonine decorated with an sp²-iminosugar-type α-GalNAc mimic, have been studied both in solution, by combining NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, and in the solid state bound to an anti-mucin-1 (MUC1) antibody, by X-ray crystallography. The Tn surrogate can mimic the main conformer sampled by the natural antigen in solution and exhibits high affinity towards anti-MUC1 antibodies. Encouraged by these data, a cancer vaccine candidate based on this unnatural glycopeptide and conjugated to the carrier protein Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) has been prepared and tested in mice. Significantly, the experiments in vivo have proved that this vaccine elicits higher levels of specific anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies than the analog that bears the natural Tn antigen and that the elicited antibodies recognize human breast cancer cells with high selectivity. Altogether, we compile evidence to confirm that the presentation of the antigen, both in solution and in the bound state, plays a critical role in the efficacy of the designed cancer vaccines. Moreover, the outcomes derived from this vaccine prove that there is room for exploring further adjustments at the carbohydrate level that could contribute to designing more efficient cancer vaccines.

An anti-cancer vaccine based on an unnatural antigen with an sp²-iminosugar fragment.     

A straightforward approach to antibodies recognising cancer specific glycopeptidic neoepitopes

Aberrantly truncated immature O-glycosylation in proteins occurs in essentially all types of epithelial cancer cells, which was demonstrated to be a common feature of most adenocarcinomas and strongly associated with cancer proliferation and metastasis. Although extensive efforts have been made toward the development of anticancer antibodies targeting MUC1, one of the most studied mucins having cancer-relevant immature O-glycans, no anti-MUC1 antibody recognises carbohydrates and the proximal MUC1 peptide region, concurrently. Here we present a general strategy that allows for the creation of antibodies interacting specifically with glycopeptidic neoepitopes by using homogeneous synthetic MUC1 glycopeptides designed for the streamlined process of immunization, antibody screening, three-dimensional structure analysis, epitope mapping and biochemical analysis. The X-ray crystal structure of the anti-MUC1 monoclonal antibody SN-101 complexed with the antigenic glycopeptide provides for the first time evidence that SN-101 recognises specifically the essential epitope by forming multiple hydrogen bonds both with the proximal peptide and GalNAc linked to the threonine residue, concurrently. Remarkably, the structure of the MUC1 glycopeptide in complex with SN-101 is identical to its solution NMR structure, an extended conformation induced by site-specific glycosylation. We demonstrate that this method accelerates dramatically the development of a new class of designated antibodies targeting a variety of “dynamic neoepitopes” elaborated by disease-specific O-glycosylation in the immunodominant mucin domains and mucin-like sequences found in intrinsically disordered regions of many proteins.

We developed new class of designated antibodies targeting of “dynamic neoepitopes” elaborated by disease-specific O-glycosylation at the immunodominant mucin domains.     

Chemical Synthesis of Native-Type Cellulose and Its Analogues via Enzymatic Polymerization

Abstract

The first successful chemical synthesis of cellulose was achieved by a polycondensation of β-cellobiosyl fluoride monomer catalyzed with cellulase, an extracellular hydrolytic enzyme of cellulose, in a mixed solvent of acetonitrile and acetate buffer. The product, synthetic cellulose, was the crystalline allomorph cellulose II, a thermodynamically more stable form. More detailed examinations of the polymerization conditions led to the formation of the native cellulose I, a metastable allomorph, for the first time. The key to the success was to use partially purified cellulase and an appropriate mixed solvent of acetonitrile/buffer. The formation of the two allomorphs of cellulose implies that the polarity of the glucan chain ordering can be controlled in a test tube. Based on these findings, a new concept “choroselectivity,” meaning spacial control in ordering the macromolecular chain, has been proposed. Cellulose analogues, 6-O-methylated cellulose and xylan, have been synthesized regio- and stereoselectively by using the enzymatic polymerization technique.     

Synthesis of a (1→6)-β-Linked N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine Oligosaccharide1

Abstract

1,6-Anhydro-2-deoxy-3,4-di-O-benzyl-2-phthalimido-β-d- glucopyranose (5) was synthesized from 1,6-anhydro-β-d-mannopyranose (1) in five steps. Compound 5 was polymerized under cationic conditions and selectively yielded glucosamine oligomers (degree of polymerization 5-7). Copolymerization of 5 with 1,6-anhydro-2,3,4-tri-O-benzyl-β-d-glucopyranose indicated the low reactivity of 5 with the active cation derived from 5. Deprotection of 2-deoxy-3,4-di-O-benzyl-2-phthalimido-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranan (7) and N-acetylation gave 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranan (9).     

Linear polybiurets: Facile synthesis and characteristic properties

Linear polybiurets have been synthesized by polyaddition of benzyloxyamine and diisocyanates, and properties of the novel polymeric materials have been elucidated. Prior to polymerization, model reactions between benzyloxyamine and phenyl isocyanate were examined in detail and proved to be controlled by the molar ratio of reagents and by catalysts to give the urea (1:1 adduct) and/or biuret (1:2 adduct). Under appropriate conditions, the biuret was synthesized in a quantitative yield. Polymerization of equimolar amounts of benzyloxyamine and diphenylmethane or hexamethylene diisocyanate proceeded smoothly to give polybiurets with inherent viscosities up to 0.52 dL/g. The benzyl group of the model biuret and polybiuret could be removed by catalytic hydrogenation. Both the N-benzyloxy-type and N-hydroxy-type polybiurets showed excellent solubility in common organic solvents. The two kinds of polybiurets as well as model biurets adsorbed metal cations efficiently. The N-hydroxybiuret structure exhibited particularly high affinity for iron(III) and was useful for selective removal of iron from metal cation mixtures. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.