Advances in Enzymatic Glycoside Synthesis

A New Fluorogenic Probe for the Detection of endo-β-N-Acetylglucosaminidase

We developed a fluorescence-quenching-based assay system to determine the hydrolysis activity of endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidases (ENGases). The pentasaccharide derivative 1 was labeled with an N-methylanthraniloyl group as a reporter dye at the non-reducing end and with a 2,4-dinitrophenyl group as a quencher molecule at the reducing end. This derivative is hydrolyzed by ENGase, resulting in an increase in fluorescence intensity. Thus, the fluorescence signal is directly proportional to the amount of the tetrasaccharide derivative, hence allowing ENGase activity to be evaluated easily and quantitatively. Using this system, we succeeded in measuring the hydrolysis activities of ENGases and thus the inhibitory activities of known inhibitors. We confirmed that this assay system is suitable for high-throughput screening for potential inhibitors of human ENGase that might serve as therapeutic agents for the treatment of N-glycanase 1 (NGLY1) deficiency.

The ENGases: versatile biocatalysts for the production of homogeneous N-linked glycopeptides and glycoproteins

The endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidases (ENGases) are an enzyme class (EC 3.2.1.96) produced by a range of organisms, ranging from bacteria, through fungi, to higher order species, including humans, comprising two-sub families of glycosidases which all cleave the chitobiose core of N-linked glycans. Synthetic applications of these enzymes, i.e. to catalyse the reverse of their natural hydrolytic mode of action, allow the attachment of N-glycans to a wide variety of substrates which contain an N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residue to act as an 'acceptor' handle. The use of N-glycan oxazolines, high energy intermediates on the hydrolytic pathway, as activated donors allows their high yielding attachment to almost any amino acid, peptide or protein that contains a GlcNAc residue as an acceptor. The synthetic effectiveness of these biocatalysts has been significantly increased by the production of mutant glycosynthases; enzymes which can still catalyse synthetic processes using oxazolines as donors, but which do not hydrolyse the reaction products. ENGase biocatalysts are now finding burgeoning application for the production of biologically active glycopeptides and glycoproteins, including therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for which the oligosaccharides have been remodelled to optimise effector functions.

Synthetic and semi-synthetic approaches to unprotected N-glycan oxazolines

N-Glycan oxazolines have found widespread use as activated donor substrates for endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (ENGase) enzymes, an important application that has correspondingly stimulated interest in their production, both by total synthesis and by semi-synthesis using oligosaccharides isolated from natural sources. Amongst the many synthetic approaches reported, the majority rely on the fabrication (either by total synthesis, or semi-synthesis from locust bean gum) of a key Manβ(1-4)GlcNAc disaccharide, which can then be elaborated at the 3- and 6-positions of the mannose unit using standard glycosylation chemistry. Early approaches subsequently relied on the Lewis acid catalysed conversion of peracetylated N-glycan oligosaccharides produced in this manner into their corresponding oxazolines, followed by global deprotection. However, a key breakthrough in the field has been the development by Shoda of 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride (DMC), and related reagents, which can direct convert an oligosaccharide with a 2-acetamido sugar at the reducing terminus directly into the corresponding oxazoline in water. Therefore, oxazoline formation can now be achieved in water as the final step of any synthetic sequence, obviating the need for any further protecting group manipulations, and simplifying synthetic strategies. As an alternative to total synthesis, significant quantities of several structurally complicated N-glycans can be isolated from natural sources, such as egg yolks and soy bean flour. Enzymatic transformations of these materials, in concert with DMC-mediated oxazoline formation as a final step, allow access to a selection of N-glycan oxazoline structures both in larger quantities and in a more expedient fashion than is achievable by total synthesis.

Implementation of Glycan Remodeling to Plant-Made Therapeutic Antibodies

N-glycosylation profoundly affects the biological stability and function of therapeutic proteins, which explains the recent interest in glycoengineering technologies as methods to develop biobetter therapeutics. In current manufacturing processes, N-glycosylation is host-specific and remains difficult to control in a production environment that changes with scale and production batches leading to glycosylation heterogeneity and inconsistency. On the other hand, in vitro chemoenzymatic glycan remodeling has been successful in producing homogeneous pre-defined protein glycoforms, but needs to be combined with a cost-effective and scalable production method. An efficient chemoenzymatic glycan remodeling technology using a plant expression system that combines in vivo deglycosylation with an in vitro chemoenzymatic glycosylation is described. Using the monoclonal antibody rituximab as a model therapeutic protein, a uniform Gal2GlcNAc2Man3GlcNAc2 (A2G2) glycoform without α-1,6-fucose, plant-specific α-1,3-fucose or β-1,2-xylose residues was produced. When compared with the innovator product Rituxan®, the plant-made remodeled afucosylated antibody showed similar binding affinity to the CD20 antigen but significantly enhanced cell cytotoxicity in vitro. Using a scalable plant expression system and reducing the in vitro deglycosylation burden creates the potential to eliminate glycan heterogeneity and provide affordable customization of therapeutics' glycosylation for maximal and targeted biological activity. This feature can reduce cost and provide an affordable platform to manufacture biobetter antibodies.

Specificity of Donor Structures for endo-β-N-Acetylglucosaminidase-Catalyzed Transglycosylation Reactions

To demonstrate the structural specificity of the glycosyl donor for the transglycosylation reaction by using endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Mucor hiemalis (endo-M), a series of tetrasaccharide oxazoline derivatives was synthesized. These derivatives correspond to the core structure of an asparagine-linked glycoprotein glycan with a β-mannose unit of a non-natural-type monosaccharide, including β-glucose, β-galactose, and β-talose in place of the β-mannose moiety. The transglycosylation activity of wildtype (WT) endo-M and two mutants, N175Q and N175A, was examined by using these tetrasaccharide donors with p-nitrophenyl N-acetylglucosaminide (GlcNAc-pNp). The essential configuration of the hydroxy group for the transglycosylation reaction was determined. On the basis of these results, the transglycosylation reaction was investigated by using chemically modified donors, and transglycosylated products were successfully obtained.

Synthetic Three-Component HIV-1 V3 Glycopeptide Immunogens Induce Glycan-Dependent Antibody Responses

Eliciting broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) responses against HIV-1 is a major goal for a prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine. One approach is to design immunogens based on known broadly neutralizing epitopes. Here we report the design and synthesis of an HIV-1 glycopeptide immunogen derived from the V3 domain. We performed glycopeptide epitope mapping to determine the minimal glycopeptide sequence as the epitope of V3-glycan-specific bNAbs PGT128 and 10-1074. We further constructed a self-adjuvant three-component immunogen that consists of a 33-mer V3 glycopeptide epitope, a universal T helper epitope P30, and a lipopeptide (Pam₃CSK₄) that serves as a ligand of Toll-like receptor 2. Rabbit immunization revealed that the synthetic self-adjuvant glycopeptide could elicit substantial glycan-dependent antibodies that exhibited broader recognition of HIV-1 gp120s than the non-glycosylated V3 peptide. These results suggest that the self-adjuvant synthetic glycopeptides can serve as an important component to elicit glycan-specific antibodies in HIV vaccine design.

Designer α1,6-Fucosidase Mutants Enable Direct Core Fucosylation of Intact N-Glycopeptides and N-Glycoproteins

Core fucosylation of N-glycoproteins plays a crucial role in modulating the biological functions of glycoproteins. Yet, the synthesis of structurally well-defined, core-fucosylated glycoproteins remains a challenging task due to the complexity in multistep chemical synthesis or the inability of the biosynthetic α1,6-fucosyltransferase (FUT8) to directly fucosylate full-size mature N-glycans in a chemoenzymatic approach. We report in this paper the design and generation of potential α1,6-fucosynthase and fucoligase for direct core fucosylation of intact N-glycoproteins. We found that mutation at the nucleophilic residue (D200) did not provide a typical glycosynthase from this bacterial enzyme, but several mutants with mutation at the general acid/base residue E274 of the Lactobacillus casei α1,6-fucosidase, including E274A, E274S, and E274G, acted as efficient glycoligases that could fucosylate a wide variety of complex N-glycopeptides and intact glycoproteins by using α-fucosyl fluoride as a simple donor substrate. Studies on the substrate specificity revealed that the α1,6-fucosidase mutants could introduce an α1,6-fucose moiety specifically at the Asn-linked GlcNAc moiety not only to GlcNAc-peptide but also to high-mannose and complex-type N-glycans in the context of N-glycopeptides, N-glycoproteins, and intact antibodies. This discovery opens a new avenue to a wide variety of homogeneous, core-fucosylated N-glycopeptides and N-glycoproteins that are hitherto difficult to obtain for structural and functional studies.

Synthesis of Glycosides by Glycosynthases

The many advances in glycoscience have more and more brought to light the crucial role of glycosides and glycoconjugates in biological processes. Their major influence on the functionality and stability of peptides, cell recognition, health and immunity and many other processes throughout biology has increased the demand for simple synthetic methods allowing the defined syntheses of target glycosides. Additional interest in glycoside synthesis has arisen with the prospect of producing sustainable materials from these abundant polymers. Enzymatic synthesis has proven itself to be a promising alternative to the laborious chemical synthesis of glycosides by avoiding the necessity of numerous protecting group strategies. Among the biocatalytic strategies, glycosynthases, genetically engineered glycosidases void of hydrolytic activity, have gained much interest in recent years, enabling not only the selective synthesis of small glycosides and glycoconjugates, but also the production of highly functionalized polysaccharides. This review provides a detailed overview over the glycosylation possibilities of the variety of glycosynthases produced until now, focusing on the transfer of the most common glucosyl-, galactosyl-, xylosyl-, mannosyl-, fucosyl-residues and of whole glycan blocks by the different glycosynthase enzyme variants.

Production of human milk oligosaccharides by enzymatic and whole-cell microbial biotransformations

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are almost unique constituents of breast milk and are not found in appreciable amounts in cow milk. Due to several positive aspects of HMO for the development, health, and wellbeing of infants, production of HMO would be desirable. As a result, scientists from different disciplines have developed methods for the preparation of single HMO compounds. Here, we review approaches to HMO preparation by (chemo-)enzymatic syntheses or by whole-cell biotransformation with recombinant bacterial cells. With lactose as acceptor (in vitro or in vivo), fucosyltransferases can be used for the production of 2'-fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, or more complex fucosylated core structures. Sialylated HMO can be produced by sialyltransferases and trans-sialidases. Core structures as lacto-N-tetraose can be obtained by glycosyltransferases from chemical donor compounds or by multi-enzyme cascades; recent publications also show production of lacto-N-tetraose by recombinant Escherichia coli bacteria and approaches to obtain fucosylated core structures. In view of an industrial production of HMOs, the whole cell biotransformation is at this stage the most promising option to provide human milk oligosaccharides as food additive.

One-pot enzymatic glycan remodeling of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody by endoglycosidase S (Endo-S) from Streptococcus pyogenes

A facile, one-pot enzymatic glycan remodeling of antibody rituximab to produce homogeneous high-mannose and hybrid type antibody glycoforms is described. This method was based on the unique substrate specificity of the endoglycosidase S (Endo-S) from Streptococcus pyogenes. While Endo-S efficiently hydrolyzes the bi-antennary complex type IgG Fc N-glycans, we found that Endo-S did not hydrolyze the "ground state" high-mannose or hybrid glycoforms, and only slowly hydrolyzed the highly activated high-mannose or hybrid N-glycan oxazolines. Moreover, we found that wild-type Endo-S could efficiently use high-mannose or hybrid glycan oxazolines for transglycosylation without product hydrolysis. The combination of the remarkable difference in substrate specificity of Endo-S allows the deglycosylation of heterogeneous rituximab and the transglycosylation with glycan oxazoline to take place in one-pot without the need of isolating the deglycosylated intermediate or changing the enzyme to afford the high-mannose type, hybrid type, and some selectively modified truncated form of antibody glycoforms.

Glycan Remodeling of Human Erythropoietin (EPO) Through Combined Mammalian Cell Engineering and Chemoenzymatic Transglycosylation

The tremendous structural heterogeneity of N-glycosylation of glycoproteins poses a great challenge for deciphering the biological functions of specific glycoforms and for developing protein-based therapeutics. We have previously reported a chemoenzymatic glycan remodeling method for producing homogeneous glycoforms of N-glycoproteins including intact antibodies, which consist of endoglycosidase-catalyzed deglycosylation and novel glycosynthase-catalyzed transglycosylation, but its application to complex glycoproteins carrying multiple N-glycans remains to be examined. We report here site-selective chemoenzymatic glycosylation remodeling of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) that contains three N-glycans. We found that the generation of a HEK293S GnT I knockout FUT8 overexpressing cell line enabled the production of an unusual Man₅GlcNAc₂Fuc glycoform, which could be converted to the core-fucosylated GlcNAc-EPO intermediate acceptor for enzymatic transglycosylation. With this acceptor, homogeneous sialylated glycoform or azide-tagged glycoform were produced using the glycosynthase (EndoF3-D165A) catalyzed transglycosylation. Interestingly, a remarkable site-selectivity was observed in the transglycosylation reactions, leading to the introduction of two N-glycans selectively at the Asn-38 and Asn-83 sites, which was confirmed by a detailed MS/MS analysis of the transglycosylation product. Finally, a different N-glycan was attached at the third (Asn-24) site by pushing the enzymatic transglycosylation with a distinct glycan oxazoline, achieving the site-selective glycosylation modification of the protein. This study represents the first example of site-selective chemoenzymatic glycan engineering of complex glycoproteins carrying multiple N-glycans.

Systematic Synthesis and Binding Study of HIV V3 Glycopeptides Reveal the Fine Epitopes of Several Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies

A class of new glycan-reactive broadly neutralizing antibodies represented by PGT121, 10-1074, and PGT128 has recently been discovered that targets specific N-glycans and the peptide region around the V3 domain. However, the glycan specificity and fine epitopes of these bNAbs remain to be further defined. We report here a systematic chemoenzymatic synthesis of homogeneous V3 glycopeptides derived from the HIV-1 JR-FL strain carrying defined N-glycans at N332, N301, and N295 sites. Antibody binding studies revealed that both the nature and site of glycosylation in the context of the V3 domain were critical for high-affinity binding. It was found that antibody PGT128 exhibited specificity for high-mannose N-glycan with glycosylation site promiscuity, PGT121 showed binding specificity for glycopeptide carrying a sialylated N-glycan at N301 site, and 10-1074 was specific for glycopeptide carrying a high-mannose N-glycan at N332 site. The synthesis and binding studies permit a detailed assessment of the glycan specificity and the requirement of peptide in the context of antibody-antigen recognition. The identified glycopeptides can be used as potential templates for HIV vaccine design.

Endo-α-Mannosidase-Catalyzed Transglycosylation

In order for facilitating the synthesis of oligosaccharides, transglycosylation reactions mediated by glycoside hydrolases have been studied in various contexts. In this study, we examined the transglycosylating activity of a Golgi endo-α-mannosidase. We prepared various glycosyl donors and acceptors, and recombinant human Golgi endo-α-mannosidase and its various mutants were expressed. The enzyme was able to mediate transglycosylation from α-glycosyl-fluorides. Systematic screening of various point mutants revealed that the E407D mutant had excellent transglycosylation activity and extremely low hydrolytic activity. Substrate specificity analysis revealed that minimum motif required for glycosyl acceptor is Manα1- 2Man. The synthetic utility of the enzyme was demonstrated by generation of a high-mannose-type undecasaccharide (Glc₁ Man₉ GlcNAc₂ ).

Imidazolium-labeled glycosides as probes to harness glycosyltransferase activity in human breast milk

Imidazolium-labeled (ITag-) glycosides are used to harness the glycosyltransferase activity directly from human breast milk. The covalently attached ionic labels provide a bifunctional chemical handle that is used to monitor reaction progress by MS, as well as aid in product purification from complex mixtures. The technology is exemplified in the synthesis of biologically relevant oligosaccharide analogs, LacNAc-ITag, ITag-Lewisx and ITag-Lewisa, in a matter of days from human breast milk without having to isolate specific enzymes.

Selective anomeric acetylation of unprotected sugars in water

High yielding selective acetylation of only the anomeric hydroxyl of unprotected sugars is possible in aqueous solution using 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride (DMC), thioacetic acid, and a suitable base. The reaction, which may be performed on a multi-gram scale, is stereoselective for sugars that possess a hydroxyl group at position-2, exclusively yielding the 1,2-trans products. The use of an iterative reagent addition procedure allows the use of sodium carbonate as the base, avoiding the formation of triethylammonium salts, which may hamper product purification. The glycosyl acetate products may be used as donor substrates for glycosidase-catalysed synthesis. The crude aqueous acetylation reaction mixture may also be used for this purpose.

Computational insights into active site shaping for substrate specificity and reaction regioselectivity in the EXTL2 retaining glycosyltransferase

QM(DFT)/MM calculations and molecular dynamics simulations on wild-type retaining α1,4-N-acetylhexosaminyltransferase (EXTL2) and Arg293Ala, Asp246Ala, Arg293Ala/Asp246Ala and Asp246Glu mutants are used to understand the role of these two residues.

Enzymatic fine-tuning for 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl) β-D-xylopyranoside synthesis catalyzed by the recombinant β-xylosidase BxTW1 from Talaromyces amestolkiae

Background

Glycosides are compounds displaying crucial biological roles and plenty of applications. Traditionally, these molecules have been chemically obtained, but its efficient production is limited by the lack of regio- and stereo-selectivity of the chemical synthesis. As an interesting alternative, glycosidases are able to catalyze the formation of glycosides in a process considered green and highly selective. In this study, we report the expression and characterization of a fungal β-xylosidase in Pichia pastoris. The transglycosylation potential of the enzyme was evaluated and its applicability in the synthesis of a selective anti-proliferative compound demonstrated.

Results

The β-xylosidase BxTW1 from the ascomycete fungus Talaromyces amestolkiae was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115. The yeast secreted 8 U/mL of β-xylosidase that was purified by a single step of cation-exchange chromatography. rBxTW1 in its active form is an N-glycosylated dimer of about 200 kDa. The enzyme was biochemically characterized displaying a K_m and k_cat against p-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside of 0.20 mM and 69.3 s⁻¹ respectively, and its maximal activity was achieved at pH 3 and 60 °C. The glycan component of rBxTW1 was also analyzed in order to interpret the observed loss of stability and maximum velocity when compared with the native enzyme. A rapid screening of aglycone specificity was performed, revealing a remarkable high number of potential transxylosylation acceptors for rBxTW1. Based on this analysis, the enzyme was successfully tested in the synthesis of 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl) β-d-xylopyranoside, a well-known selective anti-proliferative compound, enzymatically obtained for the first time. The application of response surface methodology, following a Box-Behnken design, enhanced this production by eightfold, fitting the reaction conditions into a multiparametric model. The naphthyl derivative was purified and its identity confirmed by NMR.

Conclusions

A β-xylosidase from T. amestolkiae was produced in P. pastoris and purified. The final yields were much higher than those attained for the native protein, although some loss of stability and maximum velocity was observed. rBxTW1 displayed remarkable acceptor versatility in transxylosylation, catalyzing the synthesis of a selective antiproliferative compound, 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl) β-d-xylopyranoside. These results evidence the interest of rBxTW1 for transxylosylation of relevant products with biotechnological interest.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0568-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

DNA-catalyzed glycosylation using aryl glycoside donors

We report the identification by in vitro selection of Zn(2+)/Mn(2+)-dependent deoxyribozymes that glycosylate the 3'-OH of a DNA oligonucleotide. Both β and α anomers of aryl glycosides can be used as the glycosyl donors. Individual deoxyribozymes are each specific for a particular donor anomer.