Synthesis of Novel Mimetics of CMP-Sialic Acid as the Inhibitors of Sialyltransferases

Abstract

Novel mimetics of CMP-sialic acid were designed as the inhibitors of sialyltransferases. They were synthesized in a short step from a cytosine carrying β-hydroxy-α-l-amino acid based on the knowledge that nikkomycin, a peptidic derivative of an uracil carrying amino acid, shows a potent inhibitory activity toward N-acetyl-d-glucosaminyltransferases that employ UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine as the donor substrate. The cytosine carrying β-hydroxyl-α-l-amino acid, a key intermediate in our synthetic strategy, was easily prepared by the l-threonine aldolase (LTA) catalyzed reaction.