Breaking Pseudo-Symmetry in Multiantennary Complex N-Glycans Using Lanthanide-Binding Tags and NMR Pseudo-Contact Shifts

Biomimetic Tweezers for N-Glycans: Selective Recognition of the Core GlcNAc2 Disaccharide of the Sialylglycopeptide SGP

In recent years, glycomics have shown how pervasive the role of carbohydrates in biological systems is and how chemical tools are essential to investigate glycan function and modulate carbohydrate-mediated processes. Biomimetic receptors for carbohydrates can carry out this task but, although significant affinities and selectivities toward simple saccharides have been achieved, targeting complex glycoconjugates remains a goal yet unattained. In this work we report the unprecedented recognition of a complex biantennary sialylglycopeptide (SGP) by a tweezers-shaped biomimetic receptor, which selectively binds to the core GlcNAc₂ disaccharide of the N-glycan with an affinity of 170 μM. Because of the simple structure and the remarkable binding ability, this biomimetic receptor can represent a versatile tool for glycoscience, opening the way to useful applications.

Synthetic Approaches to Break the Chemical Shift Degeneracy of Glycans

NMR spectroscopy is the leading technique for determining glycans' three-dimensional structure and dynamic in solution as well as a fundamental tool to study protein-glycan interactions. To overcome the severe chemical shift degeneracy of these compounds, synthetic probes carrying NMR-active nuclei (e. g., 13 C or 19 F) or lanthanide tags have been proposed. These elegant strategies permitted to simplify the complex NMR analysis of unlabeled analogues, shining light on glycans' conformational aspects and interaction with proteins. Here, we highlight some key achievements in the synthesis of specifically labeled glycan probes and their contribution towards the fundamental understanding of glycans.

Efficient Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of N-Glycans with a β1,4-Galactosylated Bisecting GlcNAc Motif

In human serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), a rare modification of biantennary complex N‐glycans lead to a β1,4‐galactosylated bisecting GlcNAc branch. We found that the bisecting GlcNAc on a biantennary core‐fucosylated N‐glycan was enzymatically galactosylated under stringent reaction conditions. Further optimizations led to an efficient enzymatic approach to this particular modification for biantennary substrates. Notably, tri‐ and tetra‐antennary complex N‐glycans were not converted by bovine galactosyltransferase. An N‐glycan with a galactosylated bisecting GlcNAc was linked to a lanthanide binding tag. The pseudo‐contact shifts (PCS) obtained from the corresponding Dy‐complex were used to calculate the conformational preferences of the rare N‐glycan. Besides two extended conformations only a single folded conformation was found.

Conformational Studies of Oligosaccharides

The conformation of a molecule strongly affects its function, as demonstrated for peptides and nucleic acids. This correlation is much less established for carbohydrates, the most abundant organic materials in nature. Recent advances in synthetic and analytical techniques have enabled the study of carbohydrates at the molecular level. Recurrent structural features were identified as responsible for particular biological activities or material properties. In this Minireview, recent achievements in the structural characterization of carbohydrates, enabled by systematic studies of chemically defined oligosaccharides, are discussed. These findings can guide the development of more potent glycomimetics. Synthetic carbohydrate materials by design can be envisioned.

A Double-Armed, Hydrophilic Transition Metal Complex as a Paramagnetic NMR Probe

Synthetic metal complexes can be used as paramagnetic probes for the study of proteins and protein complexes. Herein, two transition metal NMR probes (TraNPs) are reported. TraNPs are attached through two arms to a protein to generate a pseudocontact shift (PCS) using cobalt(II), or paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) with manganese(II). The PCS analysis of TraNPs attached to three different proteins shows that the size of the anisotropic component of the magnetic susceptibility depends on the probe surroundings at the surface of the protein, contrary to what is observed for lanthanoid‐based probes. The observed PCS are relatively small, making cobalt‐based probes suitable for localized studies, such as of an active site. The obtained PREs are stronger than those obtained with nitroxide spin labels and the possibility to generate both PCS and PRE offers advantages. The properties of TraNPs in comparison with other cobalt‐based probes are discussed.

Avenues to Characterize the Interactions of Extended N-Glycans with Proteins by NMR Spectroscopy: The Influenza Hemagglutinin Case

Long-chain multiantenna N-glycans are extremely complex molecules. Their inherent flexibility and the presence of repetitions of monosaccharide units in similar chemical environments hamper their full characterization by X-ray diffraction or standard NMR methods. Herein, the successful conformational and interaction analysis of a sialylated tetradecasaccharide N-glycan presenting two LacNAc repetitions at each arm is presented. This glycan has been identified as the receptor of the hemagglutinin protein of pathogenic influenza viruses. To accomplish this study, a N-glycan conjugated with a lanthanide binding tag has been synthesized, enabling analysis of the system by paramagnetic NMR. Under paramagnetic conditions, the NMR signals of each sugar unit in the glycan have been determined. Furthermore, a detailed binding epitope of the tetradecasaccharide N-glycan in the presence of HK/68 hemagglutinin is described.

Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of N-glycan Positional Isomers and Evidence for Branch Selective Binding by Monoclonal Antibodies and Human C-type Lectin Receptors

Here, we describe a strategy for the rapid preparation of pure positional isomers of complex N-glycans to complement an existing array comprising a larger number of N-glycans and smaller glycan structures. The expanded array was then employed to study context-dependent binding of structural glycan fragments by monoclonal antibodies and C-type lectins. A partial enzymatic elongation of semiprotected core structures was combined with the protecting-group-aided separation of positional isomers by preparative HPLC. This methodology, which avoids the laborious chemical differentiation of antennae, was employed for the preparation of eight biantennary N-glycans with Galβ1,4GlcNAc (LN), GalNAcβ1,4GlcNAc (LDN), and GalNAcβ1,4[Fucα1,3]GlcNAc (LDNF) motifs presented on either one or both antennae. Screening of the binding specificities of three anti-Le^X monoclonal IgM antibodies raised against S. mansoni glycans and three C-type lectin receptors of the innate immune system, namely DC-SIGN, DC-SIGNR, and LSECtin, revealed a surprising context-dependent fine specificity for the recognition of the glycan motifs. Moreover, we observed a striking selection of one individual positional isomer over the other by the C-type lectins tested, underscoring the biological relevance of the structural context of glycan elements in molecular recognition.

Breaking the Limits in Analyzing Carbohydrate Recognition by NMR Spectroscopy: Resolving Branch-Selective Interaction of a Tetra-Antennary N-Glycan with Lectins

The biological recognition of complex-type N-glycans is part of many key physiological and pathological events. Despite their importance, the structural characterization of these events remains unsolved. The inherent flexibility of N-glycans hampers crystallization and the chemical equivalence of individual branches precludes their NMR characterization. By using a chemoenzymatically synthesized tetra-antennary N-glycan conjugated to a lanthanide binding tag, the NMR signals under paramagnetic conditions discriminated all four N-acetyl lactosamine antennae with unprecedented resolution. The NMR data revealed the conformation of the N-glycan and permitted for the first time the direct identification of individual branches involved in the recognition by two N-acetyllactosamine-binding lectins, Datura stramonium seed lectin (DSL) and Ricinus Communis agglutinin (RCA120).

Fluoroacetamide Moieties as NMR Spectroscopy Probes for the Molecular Recognition of GlcNAc-Containing Sugars: Modulation of the CH-π Stacking Interactions by Different Fluorination Patterns

We herein propose the use of fluoroacetamide and difluoroacetamide moieties as sensitive tags for the detection of sugar–protein interactions by simple ¹H and/or ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy methods. In this process, we have chosen the binding of N,N′‐diacetyl chitobiose, a ubiquitous disaccharide fragment in glycoproteins, by wheat‐germ agglutinin (WGA), a model lectin. By using saturation‐transfer difference (STD)‐NMR spectroscopy, we experimentally demonstrate that, under solution conditions, the molecule that contained the CHF₂CONH‐ moiety is the stronger aromatic binder, followed by the analogue with the CH₂FCONH‐ group and the natural molecule (with the CH₃CONH‐ fragment). In contrast, the molecule with the CF₃CONH‐ isoster displayed the weakest intermolecular interaction (one order of magnitude weaker). Because sugar–aromatic CH–π interactions are at the origin of these observations, these results further contribute to the characterization and exploration of these forces and offer an opportunity to use them to unravel complex recognition processes.

Conformational Analysis of a High-Mannose-Type Oligosaccharide Displaying Glucosyl Determinant Recognised by Molecular Chaperones Using NMR-Validated Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Exploration of the conformational spaces of flexible oligosaccharides is essential to gain deeper insights into their functional mechanisms. Here we characterised dynamic conformation of a high-mannose-type dodecasaccharide with a terminal glucose residue, a critical determinant recognised by molecular chaperones. The dodecasaccharide was prepared by our developed chemoenzymatic technique, which uses ¹³ C labelling and lanthanide tagging to detect conformation-dependent paramagnetic effects by NMR spectroscopy. The NMR-validated molecular dynamics simulation produced the dynamic conformational ensemble of the dodecasaccharide. This determined its spatial distribution as well as the glycosidic linkage conformation of the terminal glucose determinant. Moreover, comparison of our results with previously reported crystallographic data indicates that the chaperone binding to its target oligosaccharides involves an induced-fit mechanism.

"Rules of Engagement" of Protein-Glycoconjugate Interactions: A Molecular View Achievable by using NMR Spectroscopy and Molecular Modeling

Understanding the dynamics of protein-ligand interactions, which lie at the heart of host-pathogen recognition, represents a crucial step to clarify the molecular determinants implicated in binding events, as well as to optimize the design of new molecules with therapeutic aims. Over the last decade, advances in complementary biophysical and spectroscopic methods permitted us to deeply dissect the fine structural details of biologically relevant molecular recognition processes with high resolution. This Review focuses on the development and use of modern nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to dissect binding events. These spectroscopic methods, complementing X-ray crystallography and molecular modeling methodologies, will be taken into account as indispensable tools to provide a complete picture of protein-glycoconjugate binding mechanisms related to biomedicine applications against infectious diseases.

Exploration of conformational spaces of high-mannose-type oligosaccharides by an NMR-validated simulation

Exploration of the conformational spaces of flexible biomacromolecules is essential for quantitatively understanding the energetics of their molecular recognition processes. We employed stable isotope- and lanthanide-assisted NMR approaches in conjunction with replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations to obtain atomic descriptions of the conformational dynamics of high-mannose-type oligosaccharides, which harbor intracellular glycoprotein-fate determinants in their triantennary structures. The experimentally validated REMD simulation provided quantitative views of the dynamic conformational ensembles of the complicated, branched oligosaccharides, and indicated significant expansion of the conformational space upon removal of a terminal mannose residue during the functional glycan-processing pathway.

Biological evaluation of multivalent lewis X-MGL-1 interactions

Myeloid C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) expressed by antigen-presenting cells are pattern-recognition receptors involved in the recognition of pathogens as well as of self-antigens. The interaction of carbohydrate ligands with a CLR can trigger immune responses. Although several CLR ligands are known, there is limited insight into CLR targeting by carbohydrate ligands. The weak affinity of lectin-carbohydrate interactions often renders multivalent carbohydrate presentation necessary. Here, we have analyzed the impact of multivalent presentation of the trisaccharide Lewis X (Le(X) ) epitope on its interaction with the CLR macrophage galactose-type lectin-1 (MGL-1). Glycan arrays, including N-glycan structures with terminal Le(X) , were prepared by enzymatic extension of immobilized synthetic core structures with two recombinant glycosyltransferases. Incubation of arrays with an MGL-1-hFc fusion protein showed up to tenfold increased binding to multiantennary N-glycans displaying Le(X) structures, compared to monovalent Le(X) trisaccharide. Multivalent presentation of Le(X) on the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA) led to increased cytokine production in a dendritic cell /T cell coculture system. Furthermore, immunization of mice with Le(X) -OVA conjugates modulated cytokine production and the humoral response, compared to OVA alone. This study provides insights into how multivalent carbohydrate-lectin interactions can be exploited to modulate immune responses.