Synthesis of novel N-acetylneuraminic acid derivatives as substrates for rapid detection of influenza virus neuraminidase

Synthesis and Evaluation of Glycosyl Luciferins

Measuring glycosidase activity is important to monitor any aberrations in carbohydrate hydrolase activity, but also for the screening of potential glycosidase inhibitors. To this end, synthetic substrates are needed which provide an enzyme-dependent read-out upon hydrolysis by the glycosidase. Herein, we present two new routes for the synthesis of caged luminescent carbohydrates, which can be used for determining glycosidase activity with a luminescent reporter molecule. The substrates were validated with glycosidase and revealed a clear linear range and enzyme-dependent signal upon the in situ generation of the luciferin moiety from the corresponding nitrile precursors. Besides, we showed that these compounds could directly be synthesized from unprotected glycosyl-α-fluorides in a two-step procedure with yields up to 75 %. The intermediate methyl imidate appeared a key intermediate which also reacted with d-cysteine to give the corresponding d-luciferin substrate rendering this a highly attractive method for synthesizing glycosyl luciferins in good yields.

Evaluation of catalytic activity of human and animal origin viral neuraminidase: Current prospect

With the exception of plants, almost all living organisms synthesize neuraminidase/sialidase. It is a one among the crucial proteins that controls how virulent a microorganism is. An essential enzyme in orthomyxoviruses and paramyxoviruses that destroys receptors is neuraminidase. It plays a number of roles throughout the viral life cycle in addition to one that involves the release of progeny virus particles. This protein is an important target for therapeutic interventions and diagnostic assays. Neuraminidase inhibitors effectively prevent the spread of disease and viral infection. Sensitive, quick, and inexpensive high throughput assays are needed to screen for specific neuraminidase inhibitory chemicals. To characterize the neuraminidase catalytic activity, however, the traditional assays are still the most common in laboratories. This review gives a brief overview of these neuraminidase assays and recent, innovative developments, particularly those involving biosensors.

Ultrasensitive chemiluminescent neuraminidase probe for rapid screening and identification of small-molecules with antiviral activity against influenza A virus in mammalian cells

Influenza A virus is the most virulent influenza subtype and is associated with large-scale global pandemics characterized by high levels of morbidity and mortality. Developing simple and sensitive molecular methods for detecting influenza viruses is critical. Neuraminidase, an exo-glycosidase displayed on the surface of influenza virions, is responsible for the release of the virions and their spread in the infected host. Here, we present a new phenoxy-dioxetane chemiluminescent probe (CLNA) that can directly detect neuraminidase activity. The probe exhibits an effective turn-on response upon reaction with neuraminidase and produces a strong emission signal at 515 nm with an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio. Comparison measurements of our new probe with previously reported analogous neuraminidase optical probes showed superior detection capability in terms of response time and sensitivity. Thus, as far as we know, our probe is the most sensitive neuraminidase probe known to date. The chemiluminescence turn-on response produced by our neuraminidase probe enables rapid screening for small molecules that inhibit viral replication through different mechanisms as validated directly in influenza A-infected mammalian cells using the known inhibitors oseltamivir and amantadine. We expect that our new chemiluminescent neuraminidase probe will prove useful for various applications requiring neuraminidase detection including drug discovery assays against various influenza virus strains in mammalian cells.

A new chemiluminescence neuraminidase probe enables rapid screening of small molecules that inhibit viral replication, directly in influenza A-infected mammalian cells.

Synthesis of MUC1-derived glycopeptide bearing a novel triazole STn analog

The synthesis of MUC1 glycopeptides bearing modified tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) represents an effective strategy to develop potential antitumor vaccines that trigger strong immune response. In this context, we present herein the multistep synthesis of the triazole glycosyl amino acid Neu5Ac-α/β2-triazole-6-βGalNAc-ThrOH 1 as STn antigen analog, along with its assembly on the corresponding MUC1 peptide to give NAcProAsp [Neu5Acα/β2-triazole-6-βGalNAc]ThrArgProGlyOH 2. Despite interacting differently with SM3 monoclonal antibody, as shown by molecular dynamic simulations, this unnatural triazole glycopeptide may represent a promising candidate for cancer immunotherapy.

Sialidase substrates for Sialdiase assays - activity, specificity, quantification and inhibition

Sialidases are glycosidases responsible for the removal of sialic acid (Sia) residues (desialylation) from glycan portions of either glycoproteins or glycolipids. By desialylation, sialidases are able to modulate the functionality and stability of the Sia-containing molecules and are involved in both physiological and pathological pathways. Therefore, evaluation of sialidase activity and specificity is important for understanding the biological significance of desialylation by sialidases and its function and the related molecular mechanisms of the physiological and pathological pathways. In addition, it is essential for developing novel mechanisms and approaches for disease treatment and diagnosis and pathogen detection as well. This review summarizes the most recent sialidase substrates for evaluating sialidase activity and specificity and screening sialidase inhibitors, including (i) general sialidase substrates, (ii) specific sialidase substrates, (iii) native sialidase substrates and (iv) cellular sialidase substrates. This review also provides a brief introduction of recent instrumental methods for quantifying the sialidase activity, such as UV, fluorescence, HPLC and LC-MS methods.

Proximity Ligation-Based Fluorogenic Imaging Agents for Neuraminidases

Reagents to visualize and localize neuraminidase activity would be valuable probes to study the role of neuraminidases in normal cellular processes as well as during viral infections or cancer development. Herein, a new class of neuraminidase-imaging probes that function as proximity ligation reagents by releasing a highly reactive fluorophore that tags nearby cellular material is described. It is further demonstrated that it is possible to create an influenza virus-specific reagent, which can specifically detect influenza virus infections in mammalian cells. These reagents have potential use as specific histological probes independent of viral antigenicity and, therefore, offer some advantages over commonly used anti-neuraminidase antibodies.

Bioluminescence-based neuraminidase inhibition assay for monitoring influenza virus drug susceptibility in clinical specimens

The QFlu prototype bioluminescence-based neuraminidase (NA) inhibition (NI) assay kit was designed to detect NA inhibitor (NAI)-resistant influenza viruses at point of care. Here, we evaluated its suitability for drug susceptibility assessment at a surveillance laboratory. A comprehensive panel of reference viruses (n = 14) and a set of 90 seasonal influenza virus A and B isolates were included for testing with oseltamivir and/or zanamivir in the QFlu assay using the manufacturer-recommended protocol and a modified version attuned to surveillance requirements. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) generated were compared with those of NI assays currently used for monitoring influenza drug susceptibility, the fluorescent (FL) and chemiluminescent (CL) assays. To provide proof of principle, clinical specimens (n = 235) confirmed by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR to contain influenza virus A(H1N1)pdm09 and prescreened for the oseltamivir resistance marker H275Y using pyrosequencing were subsequently tested in the QFlu assay. All three NI assays were able to discriminate the reference NA variants and their matching wild-type viruses based on the difference in their IC50s. Unless the antigenic types were first identified, certain NA variants (e.g., H3N2 with E119V) could be detected among seasonal viruses using the FL assays only. Notably, the QFlu assay identified oseltamivir-resistant A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses carrying the H275Y marker directly in clinical specimens, which is not feasible with the other two phenotypic assays, which required prior virus culturing in cells. Furthermore, The QFlu assay allows detection of the influenza virus A and B isolates carrying established and potential NA inhibitor resistance markers and may become a useful tool for monitoring drug resistance in clinical specimens.