O-glycosylated Amino Acids Research Articles

Tn Antigen Mimics by Ring-Opening of Chiral Cyclic Sulfamidates with Carbohydrate C1- S- and C1- O-Nucleophiles.

Starting from commercially available ( S)-isoserine and effectively accessible ( S)-α-methylserine, enantiopure cyclic sulfamidates have been prepared as chiral building blocks for the synthesis of various S- and O-glycosylated amino acid derivatives, including unnatural variants of the Tn antigen, through highly chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective nucleophilic ring-opening reactions with carbohydrate C1- S- and C1- O-nucleophiles.

A Synthetic MUC1 Glycopeptide Bearing βGalNAc-Thr as a Tn Antigen Isomer Induces the Production of Antibodies against Tumor Cells.

This study presents the synthesis of the novel protected O-glycosylated amino acid derivatives 1 and 2, containing βGalNAc-SerOBn and βGalNAc-ThrOBn units, respectively, as mimetics of the natural Tn antigen (αGalNAc-Ser/Thr), along with the solid-phase assembly of the glycopeptides NHAcSer-Ala-Pro-Asp-Thr[αGalNAc]-Arg-Pro-Ala-Pro-Gly-BSA (3-BSA) and NHAcSer-Ala-Pro-Asp-Thr[βGalNAc]-Arg-Pro-Ala-Pro-Gly-BSA (4-BSA), bearing αGalNAc-Thr or βGalNAc-Thr units, respectively, as mimetics of MUC1 tumor mucin glycoproteins. According to ELISA tests, immunizations of mice with βGalNAc-glycopeptide 4-BSA induced higher sera titers (1:320 000) than immunizations with αGalNAc-glycopeptide 3-BSA (1:40 000). Likewise, flow cytometry assays showed higher capacity of the obtained anti-glycopeptide 4-BSA antibodies to recognize MCF-7 tumor cells. Cross-recognition between immunopurified anti-βGalNAc antibodies and αGalNAc-glycopeptide and vice versa was also verified. Lastly, molecular dynamics simulations and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed that βGalNAc-glycopeptide 4 can interact with a model antitumor monoclonal antibody (SM3). Taken together, these data highlight the improved immunogenicity of the unnatural glycopeptide 4-BSA, bearing βGalNAc-Thr as Tn antigen isomer.

I2-mediated α-selective Ferrier glycosylation approach to synthesis of O-glycosyl amino acids

AbstractI2 is an effective promoter for the synthesis of 2,3-unsaturated glycosides via Ferrier glycosylation. This reaction was used in the present work for the synthesis of O-glycosylated Fmoc amino acid building blocks. This metal-free reaction afforded the desired products with good to excellent yields with good α-selectivity.

Evaluation of non‐reductive β‐elimination/Michael addition for glycosylation site determination in mucin‐like O‐glycopeptides

Investigation of site-specific protein O-glycosylation remains a formidable task in post-translational modification-centred proteomics. In particular, the determination of O-glycosylated amino acids in mucin-like glycopeptides lags far behind the techniques for phosphorylation site and N-glycosylation site identification, for which well-established enrichment techniques are available. The present work investigated β-elimination of mucin-like O-glycopeptides with a mild alkylamine base and concomitant Michael-type addition using 2-mercaptoethanol as nucleophile applied to synthetic GalNAcylated O-glycopeptides as well as exoglycosidase-treated endogenous peptides isolated from human blood plasma. This strategy permits O-glycosylated sites to be unambiguously localized, even in multiple-glycosylated peptides. Peptides covalently modified with the glycan surrogate exhibit excellent backbone fragmentation in MS/MS due to their stability during CID.

Methyl esters: an alternative protecting group for the synthesis of O-glycosyl amino acid building blocks

The glycosyl amino acids α-GalNAc-Ser and α-GalNAc-Thr are fundamental building blocks for glycopeptide synthesis, Schmidt’s synthesis method often being chosen for this purpose. Methyl esters used as orthogonal carboxylic acid protecting group in this procedure were found to be an efficient and inexpensive alternative to other groups. The mild selective methyl ester deprotection by LiI improved the efficiency of the synthesis method.

Glycal Glycosylation and 2-Nitroglycal Concatenation, a Powerful Combination for Mucin Core Structure Synthesis

A 3,4-O-unprotected galactal derivative having bulky 6-O-TIPS protection (compound 2) could be regioselectively 3-O-glycosylated with O-(galactopyranosyl) trichloroacetimidates; depending on the protecting group pattern stereoselectively alpha- and beta-linked disaccharides were obtained. With O-(2-azido-2-deoxyglucopyransyl) trichloroacetimidate as donor (compound 10A), glycosylation of 2 and of a 6-O-unprotected galactal derivative led in acetonitrile as solvent exclusively to a beta(1-3)- and a beta(1-6)-linked disaccharide, respectively. Nitration of the galactal moieties of the saccharides followed by Michael-type addition of serine and threonine derivatives (7a,b) installed the alpha-galacto-configuration, thus readily furnishing O-glycosyl amino acid building blocks for the incorporation of core 1, core 2, core 3, core 6, and core 8 structures into glycopeptides. 2-Nitrogalactal and 2-nitroglucal derivatives could be also successfully employed in glycoside bond formation via Michael-type addition in a reiterative manner, affording the corresponding core 5, core 7, and core 6 building blocks. In this approach, highly stereoselective glycoside bond formations were based exclusively on Michael-type addition to the nitro-enol ether moiety of the 2-nitroglycals. Hence, 2-nitroglycals are versatile intermediates for base-catalyzed glycoside bond formation.

A thin chip microsprayer system coupled to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for glycopeptide screening

A thin polymer microchip was coupled with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) 9.4 T mass spectrometer and the method was optimized in negative ion mode for glycopeptide screening. The interface between the polymer microchip and FTICR mass spectrometer consists of an in-laboratory conceived and designed mounting system that exhibits robust and controllable alignment of the chip toward the inlet of the mass spectrometer. The particular attribute of the polymer chip coupled to the FTICR mass spectrometer, to achieve an increase in ionization efficiency and sensitivity under the premise of high mass accuracy of detection, is highlighted by the large number of major and minor glycopeptide structures detected and identified in highly heterogeneous mixtures obtained from urine matrices. Glycoforms expressing various saccharide chain lengths ranging from tri- to dodecasaccharide, bearing up to three sialic acid moieties, could be detected and assigned based on the accuracy of the mass measurement (average mass deviation below 6 ppm) of their molecular ions. -Thin chipESI-FTICRMS is a potent novel system for glycomic screening of complex mixtures, as demonstrated for identification of singly sialylated O-glycosylated amino acids and peptides from urine matrices, and could be considered for general applicability in the glycoanalytical field.

Novel O-glycosyl amino acid mimetics as building blocks for O-glycopeptides act as inhibitors of galactosidases

As potential lead structures for a new class of glycosidase inhibitors the novel O-glycosyl amino acid mimetics 3′- O-[2,6-anhydro- d- glycero- l-gluco-heptitol-1-yl]- l-serine 3 and- l-threonine 4 were synthesized, employing regio- and stereoselective aziridine ring opening methodology. They proved to be stable in the presence of glycosidases and showed competitive inhibition of α-galactosidase from Aspergillus niger.

Highly efficient preparation of tumor antigen-containing glycopeptide building blocks from novel pentenyl glycosides

O-Glycosylated amino acids containing the tumor-associated T(T f)-antigen (β- d-Gal-(1→3)-α- d-GalNAc) disaccharide unit were conveniently synthesized in seven steps starting from d-galactose via an n-pentenyl glycoside (NPG) building block. Azidonitration of 3,4,6-tri- O-acetyl- d-galactal, followed by nitrate displacement with simultaneous acetate hydrolysis with sodium 4-penten-1-oxide, afforded n-pentenyl 2-deoxy-2-azidogalactoside ( 3) in near quantitative yield. Subsequent high-yielding transformations resulted in the synthesis of the key glycosyl donor n-pentenyl β-disaccharide 5 that was employed for the stereospecific preparation of glycosyl amino acids via NIS-promoted glycosylations with serine or threonine acceptors. The surprising utility of the reaction of sodium 4-penten-1-oxide with anomeric nitrates encouraged the detailed exploration of the action of a variety of nucleophiles on anomeric nitrates for the synthesis of useful 2-azido glycosyl donors directly from the ‘classic’ Lemieux azidonitration product of protected galactals. This expedient synthesis (28% overall yield from 1 to 7a) that makes use of heretofore rarely exploited pentenyl 2′-azidoglycosides, should be a valuable entry in the armamentarium of routes to biologically relevant glycopeptides in both mono- and multivalent forms.

Synthesis of Tumor‐Associated Glycopeptide Antigens

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

An NMR study of O-glycosylation induced structural changes in the alpha-helix of calcitonin.

We previously reported that two out of seven artificially O-glycosylated calcitonin derivatives had an altered peptide backbone conformation as indicated by decreased helical contents, determined by CD measurement. In the present study, two of those derivatives, in which a GalNAc residue is attached to Thr6 or Thr21 of calcitonin, were analyzed by NMR in order to determine the structural changes induced by the O-glycosylation in more detail. Deviations in the chemical shifts suggest that the structural change is not global but only a local one and is located in the vicinity of each O-glycosylation site. The intensities of the NOE cross peaks, an indicator of alpha-helical structure, also were decreased around the O-glycosylation site. The hydrogen/deuterium exchange rates of the main chain amide protons increased at the N- or C-terminal portion of the alpha-helix corresponding to the respective O-glycosylation site and explains the results of the CD experiments. The inter-residual NOE cross peaks between the carbohydrate and the peptide portions, other than the O-glycosylated amino acid residue, showed that local structural contacts extended three or two residue distance for Thr6- or Thr21-glycosylated derivative, respectively. Thus, we conclude that the O-glycosylation induced a change in the local structure and that this structural perturbation modulated the original alpha-helical structure of calcitonin, resulting in the apparent decrease in the helical content deduced from CD spectra.

Capillary electrophoresis and off-line capillary electrophoresis–electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry of carbohydrates

The use of off-line high-performance capillary electrophoresis in connection with nanospray electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry for identification of complex carbohydrates of biological origin is presented. The method was applied to the identification of O-glycosylated amino acids and -glycopeptides from the urine of patients suffering from a hereditary disease – N-acetylhexosaminidase deficiency. Structural elements typical for O-glycosylation of proteins, like expression of core 1 and 2 type O-glycans with different numbers of N-acetyllactosaminyl repeats and different degrees of sialylation, can be directly detected.

A concise synthesis of the O-glycosylated amino acid building block; using phenyl selenoglycoside as a glycosyl donor

A new glycosylation methodology for synthesizing a protected T f antigen is described. The key step is to use phenyl selenoglycoside as a glycosyl donor, thereby successfully establishing O-linked Fmoc-protected threoninyl monosaccharide in an excellent yield with high α selectivity. From protected d-galactal, a protected T f antigen building block is obtained in 40% total yield.

A concise methodology for the stereoselective synthesis of O-glycosylated amino acid building blocks: complete 1H NMR assignments and their application in solid-phase glycopeptide synthesis.

A facile strategy for the stereoselective synthesis of suitably protected O-glycosylated amino acid building blocks, namely, Nalpha-Fmoc-Ser-[Ac4-beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-Ac2-alpha or beta-D-GalN3]-OPfp and Nalpha-Fmoc-Thr-[Ac4-beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-Ac2-alpha or beta-D-GalN3]-OPfp is described. What is new and novel in this report is that Koenigs-Knorr type glycosylation of an aglycon serine/threonine derivative (i.e. Nalpha-Fmoc-Ser-OPfp or Nalpha-Fmoc-Thr-OPfp) with protected beta-D-Gal(1-3)-D-GalN3 synthon mediated by silver salts resulted in only alpha- and/or beta-isomers in excellent yields under two different reaction conditions. The subtle differences in stereoselectivity were demonstrated clearly when glycosylation was carried out using only AgClO4 at -40 degrees C which afforded a-isomer in a quantitative yield (alpha:beta = 5:1). On the other hand, the beta-isomer was formed exclusively when the reaction was performed in the presence of Ag2CO3/AgClO4 at room temperature. A complete assignment of 1H resonances to individual sugar ring protons and the characteristic anomeric alpha-1 H and beta-1 H in Ac4Galbeta(1-3)Ac2GalN3 alpha and/or beta linked to Ser/Thr building blocks was accomplished unequivocally by two-dimensional double-quantum filtered correlated spectroscopy and nuclear Overhauser enhancement and exchange spectroscopy NMR experiments. An unambiguous structural characterization and documentation of chemical shifts, including the coupling constants for all the protons of the aforementioned alpha- and beta-isomers of the O-glycosylated amino acid building blocks carrying protected beta-D-Gal(1-3)-D-GalN3, could serve as a template in elucidating the three-dimensional structure of glycoproteins. The synthetic utility of the building blocks and versatility of the strategy was exemplified in the construction of human salivary mucin (MUC7)-derived, O-linked glycopeptides with varied degrees of glycosylation by solid-phase Fmoc chemistry. Fmoc/tert-butyl-based protecting groups were used for the peptidic moieties in conjunction with acetyl sugar protection. The transformation of the 2-azido group into the acetamido derivative was carried out with thioacetic acid on the polymer-bound glycopeptides before the cleavage step. After cleaving the glycopeptide from the resin, the acetyl groups used for sugar OH-protection were removed with sodium methoxide in methanol. Finally, the glycopeptides were purified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and their integrity was confirmed by proton NMR as well as by mass spectral analysis. Secondary structure analysis by circular dichroism of both the glycosylated and nonglycosylated peptides revealed that carbohydrates did not exert any profound structural effect on the peptide backbone conformation.

Potential of electrospray mass spectrometry for structural studies ofO-Glycoamino acids and -peptides with multiple α2,6-Sialosyl-Tn glycosylation

Non-derivatized O-glycosylated amino acids and peptides with multiple glycosylation yield molecular and fragment ions on electrospray ionization. Synthetic substrates were used to demonstrate the fragmentation behaviour of the sugar moiety in positive- and negative ion electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) at low and high skimmer potentials. The ion sensitivity is higher compared than when using fast atom bombardment desorption. The potential of ESMS for the sequencing of O-glycans is discussed.

Synthesis and biological activity of [L‐hydroxyproline]3‐tuftsin analogue and its α‐ or β‐O‐D‐glucosylated derivatives

Syntheses are described of the Hyp3-tuftsin analogue and of its derivatives alpha- or beta-O-glycosylated at the side chain function of the hydroxyproline residue. The carbohydrate-free tetrapeptide was prepared by reacting Z-Thr-Lys(Z)-OH with H-Hyp-Arg(NO2)-OBzl by the mixed anhydride procedure. In the synthesis of the alpha-glycosylated analogue the O-glycosyl amino acid was incorporated by reacting Boc-(Glc alpha+beta)Hyp-OH with H-Arg(NO2)-OBzl through the same procedure. The alpha-glucosylated dipeptide was isolated from the diastereomeric mixture, selectively deblocked, and acylated with Z-Thr-Lys(Z)-OH by the mixed anhydride procedure. In the preparation of the beta-glucosylated analogue the BOP procedure was used for reacting Boc-[Glc(Ac)4 beta]Hyp-OH with H-Arg(NO)2-OBzl was well as for the final coupling to tetrapeptide. Removal of protecting groups from crude tetrapeptides was achieved by catalytic hydrogenation. Deacetylation of the sugar moiety of the beta-glucosylated tetrapeptide was achieved by treatment with sodium methoxide in methanol. The synthetic compounds were isolated by ion exchange chromatography, and characterized by elemental analysis, amino acid analysis, optical rotation and proton NMR. Their capacity to evoke the release of interleukin 1 from mouse peritoneal macrophages and to modulate immunogenic activity of antigen-fed cells was evaluated, in comparison with tuftsin and rigin. All of the analogues were found to possess tuftsin-like activity.

Use of 1H NMR ROESY for structural determination of O-glycosylated amino acids from a serine-containing glycopeptidolipid antigen.

A serine-containing glycopeptidolipid antigen isolated from Mycobacterium xenopi typified a new class of mycobacterial glycopeptidolipid antigens devoid of the C-mycoside core structure [Rivière, M., & Puzo, G. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 9057-9063]. The lipopeptide core assigned to C12-Ser-Ser-Phe-alloThr-OCH3 exhibits three potential sites of glycosylation. The carbohydrate parts are composed of 3-O-methyl-6-deoxy-alpha-L-talopyranosyl and 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-L- rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-2-O-lauroyl-L-rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-L- rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-2,4-di-O-(acetyl, lauroyl)-6-deoxy-alpha-L-glucopyranosyl appendages. In the present work, the carbohydrate attachment sites were successfully determined by ROESY experiments on the native glycopeptidolipid using chloroform as solvent. From the NOE contacts, we unambiguously established that the acylated serine is glycosylated by the 3-O-methyl-6-deoxy-alpha-L-talopyranosyl appendage while the 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-L-rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-2-O- lauroyl-L-rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-L-rhamnopyranosyl(alpha 1----3)-2,4-di- O-(acetyl, lauroyl)-6-deoxy-alpha-L-glucopyranosyl appendage is bound to the C-terminal alloThr-OCH3. From these data, the acetyl and lauroyl residues on the C-2 and C-4 of the basal monosaccharide unit were successfully localized. Furthermore, the "L" absolute configuration for the serines and the phenylalanine residues and the "D" configuration for the allothreonine were established. The primary structure of this novel type of mycobacterial antigen, a serine-containing glycopeptidolipid, has now been fully established.

Synthesis of O‐glycosylated tuftsins by utilizing threonine derivatives containing an unprotected monosaccharide moiety

Synthesis is described of four tuftsin derivatives containing a D-glucopyranosyl or a D-galactopyranosyl unit covalently linked to the hydroxy side chain function of the threonine residue through either an alpha or beta O-glycosidic linkage. Fmoc-threonine derivatives containing the suitable unprotected sugar were used for incorporating the O-glycosylated amino acid residue. Z-Thr[alpha-Glc(OBzl)4]-OBzl and Z-Thr[alpha-Gal(OBzl)4]-OBzl were prepared from the tetra-O-benzylated sugar and Z-Thr-OBzl by the trichloroacetimidate method in the presence of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethane sulfonate. The alpha glycosylated threonine derivatives were converted into Fmoc-Thr(alpha-Glc)-OH and Fmoc-Thr(alpha-Gal)-OH by catalytic hydrogenation followed by acylation with Fmoc-OSu. beta-Glucosylation and beta-galactosylation of threonine were carried out by reacting the proper per-O-acetylated sugar with Z-Thr-OBzl and boron trifluoride ethyl etherate in dichloromethane. Catalytic hydrogenation of the beta-O-glycosylated threonine derivatives followed by acylation with Fmoc-OSu and deacetylation with methanolic hydrazine yielded Fmoc-Thr(beta-Glc)-OH and Fmoc-Thr(beta-Gal)-OH, respectively. The O-glycosylated threonine derivatives were then reacted with H-Lys(Z)-Pro-Arg(NO2)-OBzl in the presence of DCC and HOBt and the resulting glycosylated tuftsin derivatives were fully deblocked by catalytic hydrogenation, purified by HPLC, and characterized by optical rotation, amino acid analysis, and 1H NMR. The beta-galactosylated tuftsin was also prepared by the continuous flow solid phase procedure.