Kohlenhydrat-Kohlenhydrat-Erkennung zwischen LewisX-Glycoconjugaten

Assessing carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions by NMR spectroscopy: the trisaccharide epitope from the marine sponge Microciona prolifera

WEAK RECOGNITION PROCESSES: Weak calcium-mediated carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions have been detected by DOSY and TRNOESY NMR methods by employing a gold glyconanoparticle as a multivalent system. In addition, 3D models of trisaccharide-Ca(II)-trisaccharide complexes based on results from molecular dynamics simulations are proposed. Diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY-NMR) and TR-NOESY-NMR experiments are used to detect ligand binding to macromolecular receptors. These techniques have been applied to detect weak carbohydrate-carbohydrate self-recognition in solution, making use of sugar-decorated gold nanoparticles as the "macromolecule" and the same carbohydrate as the ligand. Changes in the diffusion coefficient of the free carbohydrate in the presence of the glyconanoparticle (only with Ca(II) ions in the sample solution), as well as changes in the sign of the sugar NOE peaks--positive for the free sugar (in the presence or absence of Ca(II)) and negative for the sugar only in the simultaneous presence of the glyconanoparticle and Ca(II) ions--have been taken as proof of weak Ca(II)-mediated carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions in solution. Although different methods such as SPR, TEM, and AFM have been used in the past to detect carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions with the aid of gold nanoparticles and gold selfassembled monolayers, they are restricted to high-affinity ranges. The methods used in this study allow expansion of the number of techniques to tackle this relevant biological problem, also for approaching ligand-receptor interactions below the high-affinity range. Additionally, 3D models of trisaccharide-Ca(II)-trisaccharide complexes based on results from molecular dynamics simulations are proposed.

Weak calcium-mediated interactions between Lewis X-related trisaccharides studied by NMR measurements of residual dipolar couplings

The Lewis X (LeX) determinant, a trisaccharide with the carbohydrate sequence Galbeta(1-->4)[Fucalpha(1-->3)]GlcNAcbeta, is believed to be responsible for Ca2+-mediated cell-cell interactions. In partly oriented phases composed of mixtures of penta(ethyleneglycol)monododecyl ether HO(CH2CH2O)5C12H25 and n-hexanol in the presence of Ca2+ ions, the variation of the residual dipolar couplings 1DCH of various CiHi vectors in LeX as a function of the concentration of the trisaccharide demonstrates the existence of very weak LeX-Ca2+-LeX complexes in solution. Synthetic 3-, 4-, and 6-deoxy-LeX variants were also shown to form complexes in the presence of calcium ions, despite the replacement of one of their hydroxyl groups by hydrogen atoms. This is the first direct observation in solution of a calcium-mediated interaction between LeX molecules.

New Methods for the Generation of Carbohydrate Arrays on Glass Slides and Their Evaluation

Glycosides, having spacers functionalized with an aldehyde or a carboxylic group, were immobilized through reductive amination or amidation, respectively, onto amino-functionalized glass slides. Hybridization experiments with lectins exhibited very little nonspecific protein binding, hence precluding the necessity for the blocking of unreacted functional groups on the glass slide. The covalency and the concentration dependency of the sugar ligation to the glass slide were demonstrated; the reversibility and the selectivity of lectin-carbohydrate interactions were shown.

In-Plane Structures of Synthetic Oligolactose Lipid Monolayers-Impact of Saccharide Chain Length

Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) was used to investigate the in-plane structure of monolayers of synthetic glycolipids with oligolactose head groups (Lac N, with N = number of lactose units) at the air/water interface. The Lac 1 monolayer exhibits three sharp diffraction peaks. One peak can be deconvoluted into two diffraction peaks, which suggests that alkyl chains in the monolayer form an orthorhombic lattice. On the other hand, the other two peaks are related to bulk crystalline materials residing at the interface. Another weak peak from the head group correlation, either in a monolayer or in bulk crystals, can also be observed in some experiments. The scattering patterns of the Lac 2 monolayer indicate that the alkyl chains order in an orthorhombic lattice, where a shift in the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance seems to fluidize the film. Alkyl chains in the Lac 3 monolayer also seem to assume an orthorhombic lattice; however, a weak diffraction peak from the correlation between trilactose head groups can also be observed. The estimated lattice dimensions are compared systematically to those of bulk dispersions, as well as to the viscoelastic properties of the monolayer. The obtained results strongly suggest that the in-plane structure of synthetic glycolipid monolayers can provide a well-defined basis to understand the impact of the chemical structure on the cooperativity and function of the glycocalix of cellular surfaces.

Adhesion Forces between Lewis(X) Determinant Antigens as Measured by Atomic Force Microscopy

The adhesion forces between individual molecules of Lewis(X) trisaccharide antigen (Le(X) ) have been measured in water and in calcium solution by using atomic force microscopy (AFM, see graph). These results demonstrate the self-recognition capability of this antigen, and reinforce the hypothesis that carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction could be considered as the first step in the cell-adhesion process in nature.