Stereoselective synthesis of 1,2-cis galactosides: synthesis of a glycolipid containing Galα1-6Gal component from Zygomycetes species

Synthesis of the Carbohydrate Moiety of Glycoproteins from the Parasite Echinococcus granulosus and Their Antigenicity against Human Sera

Stereocontrolled syntheses of biotin-labeled oligosaccharide portions containing the carbohydrate moiety of glycoprotein from Echinococcus granulosus have been accomplished. Trisaccharide Galβ1-3Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-R (A), tetrasaccharide Galα1-4Galβ1-3Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-R (B), and pentasaccharide Galα1-4Galβ1-3Galβ1-3Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-R (C), (R = biotinylated probe) were synthesized by stepwise condensation and/or block synthesis by the use of 5-(methoxycarbonyl)pentyl 2-azido-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-α-d-galactopyranoside as a common glycosyl acceptor. The synthesis of the tetrasaccharide and the pentasaccharide was improved from the viewpoint of reducing the number of synthetic steps and increasing the total yield by changing from stepwise condensation to block synthesis. Moreover, hexasaccharide E, which contains the oligosaccharide sequence which occurs in E. granulosus, was synthesized from trisaccharide D. We examined the antigenicity of these five oligosaccharides by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Although compounds of C-E did not exhibit antigenicity against cystic echinococcosis (CE) patient sera, compounds B, D, and E showed good serodiagnostic potential for alveolar echinococcosis (AE).

Silyl-protective groups influencing the reactivity and selectivity in glycosylations

Silyl groups such as TBDPS, TBDMS, TIPS or TMS are well-known and widely used alcohol protective groups in organic chemistry. Cyclic silylene protective groups are also becoming increasingly popular. In carbohydrate chemistry silyl protective groups have frequently been used primarily as an orthogonal protective group to the more commonly used acyl and benzyl protective groups. However, silyl protective groups have significantly different electronic and steric requirements than acyl and alkyl protective groups, which particularly becomes important when two or more neighboring alcohols are silyl protected. Within the last decade polysilylated glycosyl donors have been found to have unusual properties such as high (or low) reactivity or high stereoselectivity. This mini review will summarize these findings.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: an update for the period 2005-2006

This review is the fourth update of the original review, published in 1999, on the application of MALDI mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2006. The review covers fundamental studies, fragmentation of carbohydrate ions, method developments, and applications of the technique to the analysis of different types of carbohydrate. Specific compound classes that are covered include carbohydrate polymers from plants, N- and O-linked glycans from glycoproteins, glycated proteins, glycolipids from bacteria, glycosides, and various other natural products. There is a short section on the use of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the study of enzymes involved in glycan processing, a section on industrial processes, particularly the development of biopharmaceuticals and a section on the use of MALDI-MS to monitor products of chemical synthesis of carbohydrates. Large carbohydrate-protein complexes and glycodendrimers are highlighted in this final section.

Synthesis and biological activity of alpha-galactosyl ceramide KRN7000 and galactosyl (alpha1-->2) galactosyl ceramide

We herein report a faster and less cumbersome synthesis of the biologically attractive, alpha-galactosyl ceramide (alpha-GalCer), known as KRN7000, and its analogues. More importantly, the use of a silicon tethered intramolecular glycosylation reaction gave easy access to the diglycosyl ceramide Gal(alpha1-->2)GalCer, which has been shown to require uptake and processing to the biologically active alpha-GalCer derivative.