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Wen Y, Ding D, Luo MQ, Peng XQ, Wang EY, Wu YH, Zhou SH, Guo J. Rationally Designed Highly Potent NKT Cell Agonists with Different Cytokine Selectivity through Hydrogen-Bond Interaction. J Med Chem 2024. [PMID: 39031770 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2024]
Abstract
Synthetic α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) and its analogues as powerful agonists for natural killer T (NKT) cell manipulation have received significant attention in immunotherapy and adjuvant development. However, identifying new potent NKT cell agonists, especially those with Th1 selectivity that promote anticancer effects, remains a challenging task. In this work, we introduced a sulfonamide group into the acyl chain of αGalCer to form additional hydrogen bonds to intensify the glycolipid/CD1d interaction. Two compounds GCS-11 and GCS-12 demonstrated remarkable potency while exhibiting different cytokine induction patterns. Compared to αGalCer, the Th1-biased GCS-11 exhibited a 6-fold increase in IFN-γ but not IL-4, while the Th1/2-balanced GCS-12 elicited 7- and 5-fold increase in IFN-γ and IL-4, respectively, in vivo. These findings place them among the most potent NKT cell agonists, with superior antitumor effects. Therefore, hydrogen-bond-involved derivatization could be a powerful strategy to develop potent and polarized NKT cell agonists for various immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wen
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Dong Ding
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Meng-Qiang Luo
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Xiao-Qian Peng
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - En-Yang Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Ye-Hui Wu
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Shi-Hao Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Jun Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
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Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of a Molecular Library of Immunomodulatory α-Galactosylceramides with Fluorous-Tag-Assisted Purification and Evaluation of Their Bioactivities in Regard to IL-2 Secretion. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113403. [DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural variants of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) that stimulate invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells constitute an emerging class of immunomodulatory agents in development for numerous biological applications. Variations in lipid chain length and/or fatty acids in these glycoceramides selectively trigger specific pro-inflammatory responses. Studies that would link a specific function to a structurally distinct α-GalCer rely heavily on the availability of homogeneous and pure materials. To address this need, we report herein a general route to the diversification of the ceramide portion of α-GalCer glycolipids. Our convergent synthesis commences from common building blocks and relies on the Julia–Kocienski olefination as a key step. A cleavable fluorous tag is introduced at the non-reducing end of the sugar that facilitates quick purification of products by standard fluorous solid-phase extraction. The strategy enabled the rapid generation of a focused library of 61 α-GalCer analogs by efficiently assembling various lipids and fatty acids. Furthermore, when compared against parent α-GalCer in murine cells, many of these glycolipid variants were found to have iNKT cell stimulating activity similar to or greater than KRN7000. ELISA assaying indicated that glycolipids carrying short fatty N-acyl chains (1fc and 1ga), an unsubstituted (1fh and 1fi) or CF3-substituted phenyl ring at the lipid tail, and a flexible, shorter fatty acyl chain with an aromatic ring (1ge, 1gf, and 1gg) strongly affected the activation of iNKT cells by the glycolipid-loaded antigen-presenting molecule, CD1d. This indicates that the method may benefit the design of structural modifications to potent iNKT cell-binding glycolipids.
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Natural and synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccine adjuvants and their mechanisms of action. Nat Rev Chem 2021; 5:197-216. [PMID: 37117529 PMCID: PMC7829660 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-00244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Modern subunit vaccines based on homogeneous antigens offer more precise targeting and improved safety compared with traditional whole-pathogen vaccines. However, they are also less immunogenic and require an adjuvant to increase the immunogenicity of the antigen and potentiate the immune response. Unfortunately, few adjuvants have sufficient potency and low enough toxicity for clinical use, highlighting the urgent need for new, potent and safe adjuvants. Notably, a number of natural and synthetic carbohydrate structures have been used as adjuvants in clinical trials, and two have recently been approved in human vaccines. However, naturally derived carbohydrate adjuvants are heterogeneous, difficult to obtain and, in some cases, unstable. In addition, their molecular mechanisms of action are generally not fully understood, partly owing to the lack of tools to elucidate their immune-potentiating effects, thus hampering the rational development of optimized adjuvants. To address these challenges, modification of the natural product structure using synthetic chemistry emerges as an attractive approach to develop well-defined, improved carbohydrate-containing adjuvants and chemical probes for mechanistic investigation. This Review describes selected examples of natural and synthetic carbohydrate-based adjuvants and their application in synthetic self-adjuvanting vaccines, while also discussing current understanding of their molecular mechanisms of action.
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Abstract
Personalized cancer vaccines (PCVs) are reinvigorating vaccine strategies in cancer immunotherapy. In contrast to adoptive T-cell therapy and checkpoint blockade, the PCV strategy modulates the innate and adaptive immune systems with broader activation to redeploy antitumor immunity with individualized tumor-specific antigens (neoantigens). Following a sequential scheme of tumor biopsy, mutation analysis, and epitope prediction, the administration of neoantigens with synthetic long peptide (SLP) or mRNA formulations dramatically improves the population and activity of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Despite the promising prospect of PCVs, there is still great potential for optimizing prevaccination procedures and vaccine potency. In particular, the arduous development of tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-based vaccines provides valuable experience and rational principles for augmenting vaccine potency which is expected to advance PCV through the design of adjuvants, delivery systems, and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) reversion since current personalized vaccination simply admixes antigens with adjuvants. Considering the broader application of TAA-based vaccine design, these two strategies complement each other and can lead to both personalized and universal therapeutic methods. Chemical strategies provide vast opportunities for (1) exploring novel adjuvants, including synthetic molecules and materials with optimizable activity, (2) constructing efficient and precise delivery systems to avoid systemic diffusion, improve biosafety, target secondary lymphoid organs, and enhance antigen presentation, and (3) combining bioengineering methods to innovate improvements in conventional vaccination, "smartly" re-educate the TME, and modulate antitumor immunity. As chemical strategies have proven versatility, reliability, and universality in the design of T cell- and B cell-based antitumor vaccines, the union of such numerous chemical methods in vaccine construction is expected to provide new vigor and vitality in cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Hao Li
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Mei Li
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, 100069 Beijing, China.,Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
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Ma W, Bi J, Zhao C, Zhang Z, Liu T, Zhang G. Synthesis and biological activities of amino acids functionalized α-GalCer analogues. Bioorg Med Chem 2020; 28:115141. [PMID: 31786009 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.115141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Invariant natural killer T-cells (iNKT-cells) are promising targets for manipulating the immune system, which can rapidly release a large amount of Th1 and Th2 cytokines upon the engagement of their T cell receptor with glycolipid antigens presented by CD1d. In this paper, we wish to report a novel series of α-GalCer analogues which were synthesized by incorporation of l-amino acid methyl esters in the C-6' position of glycolipid. The evaluation of these synthetic analogues for their capacities to stimulate iNKT-cells into producing Th1 and Th2 cytokines both in vitro and in vivo indicated that they were potent CD1d ligands and could stimulate murine spleen cells into a higher release of the Th1 cytokine IFN-γ in vitro. In vivo, Gly-α-GalCer (1) and Lys-α-GalCer (3) showed more Th1-biased responses than α-GalCer, especially analogue 3 showed the highest selectivity for IFN-γ production (IFN-γ/IL-4 = 5.32) compared with α-GalCer (IFN-γ/IL-4 = 2.5) in vivo. These novel α-GalCer analogues might be used as efficient X-ray crystallographic probes to reveal the relationship between glycolipids and CD1d proteins in α-GalCer/CD1d complexes and pave the way for developing new potent immunostimulating agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiwei Ma
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Jingjing Bi
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China.
| | - Chuanfang Zhao
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhiguo Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Tongxin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China
| | - Guisheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Henan Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecule and Drug Innovation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, China.
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Hidaka Y, Kiya N, Yoritate M, Usui K, Hirai G. Synthesis of CH2-linked α-galactosylceramide and its glucose analogues through glycosyl radical-mediated direct C-glycosylation. Chem Commun (Camb) 2020; 56:4712-4715. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cc00785d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Direct C-glycosylation of a conformationally constrained and stable C1-sp3 hybridized carbohydrate donor with a carefully designed sphingosine unit afforded the CH2-linked analogue of antitumor-active KRN7000 and its glucose congener.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Hidaka
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Kyushu University
- Fukuoka 812-8582
- Japan
| | - Noriaki Kiya
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Kyushu University
- Fukuoka 812-8582
- Japan
| | - Makoto Yoritate
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Kyushu University
- Fukuoka 812-8582
- Japan
| | - Kazuteru Usui
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Kyushu University
- Fukuoka 812-8582
- Japan
| | - Go Hirai
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Kyushu University
- Fukuoka 812-8582
- Japan
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