Bottom-Up Synthesis of Hyaluronan and Its Derivatives via Enzymatic Polymerization: Direct Incorporation of an Amido Functional Group

Synthesis of Glycosides by Glycosynthases

The many advances in glycoscience have more and more brought to light the crucial role of glycosides and glycoconjugates in biological processes. Their major influence on the functionality and stability of peptides, cell recognition, health and immunity and many other processes throughout biology has increased the demand for simple synthetic methods allowing the defined syntheses of target glycosides. Additional interest in glycoside synthesis has arisen with the prospect of producing sustainable materials from these abundant polymers. Enzymatic synthesis has proven itself to be a promising alternative to the laborious chemical synthesis of glycosides by avoiding the necessity of numerous protecting group strategies. Among the biocatalytic strategies, glycosynthases, genetically engineered glycosidases void of hydrolytic activity, have gained much interest in recent years, enabling not only the selective synthesis of small glycosides and glycoconjugates, but also the production of highly functionalized polysaccharides. This review provides a detailed overview over the glycosylation possibilities of the variety of glycosynthases produced until now, focusing on the transfer of the most common glucosyl-, galactosyl-, xylosyl-, mannosyl-, fucosyl-residues and of whole glycan blocks by the different glycosynthase enzyme variants.

Endoglycosidases for the Synthesis of Polysaccharides and Glycoconjugates

Recent advances in glycobiology have implicated essential roles of oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates in many important biological recognition processes, including intracellular signaling, cell adhesion, cell differentiation, cancer progression, host-pathogen interactions, and immune responses. A detailed understanding of the biological functions, as well as the development of carbohydrate-based therapeutics, often requires structurally well-defined oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates, which are usually difficult to isolate in pure form from natural sources. To meet with this urgent need, chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis has become increasingly important as the major means to provide homogeneous compounds for functional glycocomics studies and for drug/vaccine development. Chemoenzymatic synthesis, an approach that combines chemical synthesis and enzymatic manipulations, is often the method of choice for constructing complex oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates that are otherwise difficult to achieve by purely chemical synthesis. Among these, endoglycosidases, a class of glycosidases that hydrolyze internal glycosidic bonds in glycoconjugates and polysaccharides, are emerging as a very attractive class of enzymes for synthetic purposes, due to their transglycosylation activity and their capability of transferring oligosaccharide units en bloc in a single step, in contrast to the limitation of monosaccharide transfers by common glycosyltransferases. In this chapter, we provide an overview on the application of endoglycosidases for the synthesis of complex carbohydrates, including oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans, and other biologically relevant polysaccharides. The scope, limitation, and future directions of endoglycosidase-catalyzed synthesis are discussed.

Enzymatic activities of novel mutant endoglucanases carrying sequential active sites

Novel mutant enzymes of endoglucanase II (EGII) from fungus Trichoderma viride were prepared and their hydrolysis and enzymatic polymerization activities were studied. EGII(core)2 and EGII(core)2-His, which possess sequential two active sites of EGII with a His-tag probe at the N-terminal and with His-tag probes at the N and C terminals, respectively, showed higher hydrolysis activities than EGIIcore with a single active site even in comparison on the active-site concentration basis. These mutant enzymes were applied to the enzymatic polymerization to afford artificial cellulose. The polymerization rates with using EGII(core)2 and EGII(core)2-His were also higher than that with using EGIIcore. The polymerization products were identified as highly crystalline cellulose of type II. The mutant enzymes were also effective to prepare spherulites. EGII(core)2 and EGII(core)2-His are considered to possess higher hydrolysis and polymerization activities than EGIIcore mainly due to the suitably stabilized conformation with the sequential arrangement.

Keratanase II-Catalyzed Synthesis of Keratan Sulfate Oligomers by Using Sugar Oxazolines as Transition-State Analogue Substrate Monomers: A Novel Insight into the Enzymatic Catalysis Mechanism

Keratan sulfate (KS) oligomers with well-defined structures were synthesized by keratanase II (KSase II)-catalyzed transglycosylation. N-Acetyllactosamine [Galbeta(1-->4)GlcNAc; LacNAc] oxazoline derivatives with sulfate groups at the C-6 (1 a) and both the C-6 and the C-6' (1 b) were prepared as transition-state analogue substrate monomers for KSase II. Monomer 1 a was effectively oligomerized by the enzyme under weak alkaline conditions, to give alternating 6-sulfated KS oligomers (2 a) in good yields, and with total control of regioselectivity and stereochemistry. KSase II also recognized 1 b, which provided fully 6-sulfated KS oligomers (2 b) in good yields under similar conditions. Nonsulfated LacNAc oxazoline was difficult to oligomerize enzymatically. These results imply that the catalysis mechanism of KSase II involves a sugar oxazolinium ion that requires the 6-sulfate group in the GlcNAc residue not only in hydrolysis of KS chains, but also in oligomerization of oxazoline monomers. This is the first report of KSase II-catalyzed transglycosylation to form beta(1-->3)-glycosidic bond through a substrate-assisted mechanism.

In vitro synthesis of artificial polysaccharides by glycosidases and glycosynthases

Artificial polysaccharides produced by in vitro enzymatic synthesis are new biomaterials with defined structures that either mimic natural polysaccharides or have unnatural structures and functionalities. This review summarizes recent developments in the in vitro polysaccharide synthesis by endo-glycosidases, grouped in two major strategies: (a) native retaining endo-glycosidases under kinetically controlled conditions (transglycosylation with activated glycosyl donors), and (b) glycosynthases, engineered glycosidases devoid of hydrolase activity but with high transglycosylation activity. Polysaccharides are obtained by enzymatic polymerization of simple glycosyl donors by repetitive condensation. This approach not only provides a powerful methodology to produce polysaccharides with defined structures and morphologies as novel biomaterials, but is also a valuable tool to analyze the mechanisms of polymerization and packing to acquire high-order molecular assemblies.

Enzymatic Copolymerization to Hybrid Glycosaminoglycans: A Novel Strategy for Intramolecular Hybridization of Polysaccharides

Hybrid glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) having an intramolecularly hybridized structure of hyaluronan-chondroitin (3a) and hyaluronan-chondroitin 4-sulfate (3b) have been synthesized via enzymatic copolymerization catalyzed by hyaluronidase (HAase). N-Acetylhyalobiuronate (GlcAbeta(1-->3)GlcNAc)-derived oxazoline (1) was copolymerized with N-acetylchondrosine (GlcAbeta(1-->3)GalNAc)-derived oxazoline (2a) by HAase catalysis at pH 7.5 and 30 degrees C, giving rise to copolymer 3a with Mn 7.4 x 103 in a 50% yield. Also, HAase-catalyzed copolymerization of monomer 1 with N-acetylchondrosine oxazoline having a sulfate group at C4 on GalNAc (2b) was carried out to produce copolymer 3b with Mn 1.4 x 104 in a 60% yield. The copolymer compositions were controllable by varying the comonomer feed ratio. These hybrid GAGs were successfully digested by the catalysis of hyaluronan lyase, clearly exhibiting that the products are not a blend of different homopolymers but an intramolecularly hybridized GAG.

Hyaluronidase-Catalyzed Copolymerization for the Single-Step Synthesis of Functionalized Hyaluronan Derivatives

Hyaluronidase-catalyzed copolymerization was carried out with monomer combinations of 2-methyl (1a)/2-vinyl (1b), 2-methyl (1a)/2-ethyl (1c), 2-methyl (1a)/2-n-propyl (1d), and 2-vinyl (1b)/2-ethyl (1c) oxazoline derivatives of hyalobiuronate [GlcAbeta(1-->3)GlcN]. All copolymerization reactions proceeded successfully in a regio and stereoselective manner, giving rise to hyaluronan derivatives bearing different N-acyl groups at the C2 position of the glucosamine unit in the polymer chain. The composition of the N-acyl groups was controlled by varying the comonomer feed ratio. The copolymerization mechanism was also discussed.

Enzymatic polymerization to novel polysaccharides having a glucose-N-acetylglucosamine repeating unit, a cellulose-chitin hybrid polysaccharide

A cellulose-chitin hybrid polysaccharide having alternatingly beta(1-->4)-linked D-glucose (Glc) and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) was synthesized via two modes of enzymatic polymerization. First, a sugar oxazoline monomer of Glcbeta(1-->4)GlcNAc (1) was designed as a transition-state analogue substrate (TSAS) monomer for chitinase catalysis. Monomer 1 was recognized by chitinase from Bacillus sp., giving rise to a cellulose-chitin hybrid polysaccharide (2) via ring-opening polyaddition with perfect regioselectivity and stereochemistry. Molecular weight (M(n)) of 2 reached 4030, which corresponds to 22 saccharide units. Second, a sugar fluoride monomer of GlcNAcbeta(1-->4)Glc (3) was synthesized for the catalysis of cellulase from Trichoderma viride. The enzyme catalyzed polycondensation of 3, providing a cellulose-chitin hybrid polysaccharide (4) in regio- and stereoselective manner. M(n) of 4 reached 2840, which corresponds to 16 saccharide units. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that these hybrid polysaccharides did not form any characteristic crystalline structures. Furthermore, these unnatural hybrids of 2 and 4 were successfully digested by lysozyme from human neutrophils.

A Hyaluronidase Supercatalyst for the Enzymatic Polymerization to Synthesize Glycosaminoglycans

Hyaluronidase (HAase) catalyzes multiple enzymatic polymerizations with controlling regio- and stereoselectivity perfectly. This behavior, that is, the single enzyme being effective for multireactions and retaining the enzyme catalytic specificity, is not usual, and hence, HAase is a supercatalyst. Various sugar oxazoline monomers prepared based on the concept "transition-state analogue substrate" were successfully polymerized and copolymerized with HAase catalysis, yielding natural and unnatural glycosaminoglycans.

Enzymatic synthesis of chondroitin 4-sulfate with well-defined structure

Synthesis of chondroitin sulfate (ChS) with well-defined structure was achieved for the first time by hyaluronidase-catalyzed polymerization. N-Acetylchondrosine (GlcAbeta(1-->3)GalNAc) oxazoline derivatives sulfated at C4 (1a), C6 (1b), and both C4 and C6 (1c) in the GalNAc unit were synthesized as transition state analogue substrate monomers for hyaluronidase (HAase) catalysis. Compound 1a was effectively polymerized by the enzyme, giving rise to synthetic ChS sulfated perfectly at the C4 position in all N-acetylgalactosamine units (Ch4S, 2a) in good yields. Molecular weights (Mn) of 2a ranged from 4000 to 18,400, which were controlled by varying reaction conditions. Compounds 1b and 1c were not catalyzed by the enzyme, affording the corresponding disaccharides through the oxazoline ring-opening without formation of polysaccharides.