Topological Effects and Binding Modes Operating with Multivalent Iminosugar-Based Glycoclusters and Mannosidases

Amphiphilic α-Peptoid-deoxynojirimycin Conjugate-based Multivalent Glycosidase Inhibitor for Hypoglycemic Effect and Fluorescence Imaging

Multivalent glycosidase inhibitors based on 1-deoxynojirimycin derivatives against α-glucosidases have been rapidly developed. Nonetheless, the mechanism based on self-assembled multivalent glucosidase inhibitors in living systems needs to be further studied. It remains to be determined whether the self-assembly possesses sufficient stability to endure transit through the small intestine and subsequently bind to the glycosidases located therein. In this paper, two amphiphilic compounds, 1-deoxynojirimycin and α-peptoid conjugates (LP-4DNJ-3C and LP-4DNJ-6C), were designed. Their self-assembling behaviors, multivalent α-glucosidase inhibition effect, and fluorescence imaging on living organs were studied. LP-4DNJ-6C exhibited better multivalent α-glucosidase inhibition activities in vitro. Moreover, the self-assembly of LP-4DNJ-6C could effectively form a complex with Nile red. The complex showed fluorescence quenching effect upon binding with α-glucosidases and exhibited potent fluorescence imaging in the small intestine. This result suggests that a multivalent hypoglycemic effect achieved through self-assembly in the intestine is a viable approach, enabling the rational design of multivalent hypoglycemic drugs.

Phosphorus Dendrimers for Metal-Free Ligation: Design of Multivalent Pharmacological Chaperones against Gaucher Disease

The first phosphorus dendrimers built on a cyclotriphosphazene core and decorated with six or twelve monofluorocyclooctyne units were prepared. A simple stirring allowed the grafting of N-hexyl deoxynojirimycin inhitopes onto their surface by copper-free strain promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition click reaction. The synthesized iminosugars clusters were tested as multivalent inhibitors of the biologically relevant enzymes β-glucocerebrosidase and acid α-glucosidase, involved in Gaucher and Pompe lysosomal storage diseases, respectively. For both enzymes, all the multivalent compounds were more potent than the reference N-hexyl deoxynojirimycin. Remarkably, the final dodecavalent compound proved to be one of the best β-glucocerebrosidase inhibitors described to date. These cyclotriphosphazene-based deoxynojirimycin dendrimers were then evaluated as pharmacological chaperones against Gaucher disease. Not only did these multivalent constructs cross the cell membranes but they were also able to increase β-glucocerebrosidase activity in Gaucher cells. Notably, dodecavalent compound allowed a 1.4-fold enzyme activity enhancement at a concentration as low as 100 nM. These new monofluorocyclooctyne-presenting dendrimers may further find numerous applications in the synthesis of multivalent objects for biological and pharmacological purposes.

Fluorescence sensing and glycosidase inhibition effect of multivalent glycosidase inhibitors based on Naphthalimide-deoxynojirimycin conjugates

Synthetic glycoconjugates as chemical probes have been widely developed for the detection of glycosidase enzymes. However, the binding interactions between iminosugar derivatives and glycosidases were limited, especially for the binding interactions between multivalent glycosidase inhibitors and α-glycosidases. In this paper, three naphthalimide-DNJ conjugates were synthesized. Furthermore, the binding interactions and glycosidase inhibition effects of them were investigated. It was found that the strong binding interactions of multivalent glycosidase inhibitors with enzymes were related to the efficient inhibitory activity against glycosidase. Moreover, the lengths of the chain between DNJ moieties and the triazole ring for the naphthalimide-DNJ conjugates influenced the self-assembly properties, binding interactions and glycosidase inhibition activities with multisource glycosidases. Compound 13 with six carbons between the DNJ moiety and triazole ring showed the stronger binding interactions and better glycosidase inhibition activities against α-mannosidase (jack bean) and α-glucosidase (aspergillus niger). In addition, compound 13 showed an effective PBG inhibition effect in mice with 51.18 % decrease in blood glucose at 30 min. This result opens a way for detection of multivalent glycosidase inhibition effect by a fluorescent sensing method.

Carbon-based glyco-nanoplatforms: towards the next generation of glycan-based multivalent probes

Cell surface carbohydrates mediate a wide range of carbohydrate-protein interactions key to healthy and disease mechanisms. Many of such interactions are multivalent in nature and in order to study these processes at a molecular level, many glycan-presenting platforms have been developed over the years. Among those, carbon nanoforms such as graphene and their derivatives, carbon nanotubes, carbon dots and fullerenes, have become very attractive as biocompatible platforms that can mimic the multivalent presentation of biologically relevant glycosides. The most recent examples of carbon-based nanoplatforms and their applications developed over the last few years to study carbohydrate-mediate interactions in the context of cancer, bacterial and viral infections, among others, are highlighted in this review.

1,4-Dideoxy-1,4-imino-D- and L-lyxitol-based inhibitors bind to Golgi α-mannosidase II in different protonation forms

The development of effective inhibitors of Golgi α-mannosidase II (GMII, E.C.3.2.1.114) with minimal off-target effects on phylogenetically-related lysosomal α-mannosidase (LMan, E.C.3.2.1.24) is a complex task due to the complicated structural and chemical properties of their active sites. The pKa values (and also protonation forms in some cases) of several ionizable amino acids, such as Asp, Glu, His or Arg of enzymes, can be changed upon the binding of the inhibitor. Moreover, GMII and LMan work under different pH conditions. The pKa calculations on large enzyme-inhibitor complexes and FMO-PIEDA energy decomposition analysis were performed on the structures of selected inhibitors obtained from docking and hybrid QM/MM calculations. Based on the calculations, the roles of the amino group incorporated in the ring of the imino-D-lyxitol inhibitors and some ionizable amino acids of Golgi-type (Asp270-Asp340-Asp341 of Drosophila melanogaster α-mannosidase dGMII) and lysosomal-type enzymes (His209-Asp267-Asp268 of Canavalia ensiformis α-mannosidase, JBMan) were explained in connection with the observed inhibitory properties. The pyrrolidine ring of the imino-D-lyxitols prefers at the active site of dGMII the neutral form while in JBMan the protonated form, whereas that of imino-L-lyxitols prefers the protonation form in both enzymes. The calculations indicate that the binding mechanism of inhibitors to the active-site of α-mannosidases is dependent on the inhibitor structure and could be used to design new selective inhibitors of GMII. A series of novel synthetic N-substituted imino-D-lyxitols were evaluated with four enzymes from the glycoside hydrolase GH38 family (two of Golgi-type, Drosophila melanogaster GMIIb and Caenorhabditis elegans AMAN-2, and two of lysosomal-type, Drosophila melanogaster LManII and Canavalia ensiformis JBMan, enzymes). The most potent structures [N-9-amidinononyl and N-2-(1-naphthyl)ethyl derivatives] inhibited GMIIb (Ki = 40 nM) and AMAN-2 (Ki = 150 nM) with a weak selectivity index (SI) toward Golgi-type enzymes of IC50(LManII)/IC50(GMIIb) = 35 or IC50(JBMan)/IC50(AMAN-2) = 86. On the other hand, weaker micromolar inhibitors, such as N-2-naphthylmethyl or 4-iodobenzyl derivatives [IC50(GMIIb) = 2.4 μM and IC50 (AMAN-2) = 7.6 μM], showed a significant SI in the range from 111 to 812.

Multivalent Pyrrolidine Iminosugars: Synthesis and Biological Relevance

Recently, the strategy of multivalency has been widely employed to design glycosidase inhibitors, as glycomimetic clusters often induce marked enzyme inhibition relative to monovalent analogs. Polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines, one of the most studied classes of iminosugars, are an attractive moiety due to their potent and specific inhibition of glycosidases and glycosyltransferases, which are associated with many crucial biological processes. The development of multivalent pyrrolidine derivatives as glycosidase inhibitors has resulted in several promising compounds that stand out. Herein, we comprehensively summarized the different synthetic approaches to the preparation of multivalent pyrrolidine clusters, from total synthesis of divalent iminosugars to complex architectures bearing twelve pyrrolidine motifs. Enzyme inhibitory properties and multivalent effects of these synthesized iminosugars were further discussed, especially for some less studied therapeutically relevant enzymes. We envision that this comprehensive review will help extend the applications of multivalent pyrrolidine iminosugars in future studies.

Bambus[4,6]urils as Dual Scaffolds for Multivalent Iminosugar Presentation and Ion Transport: Access to Unprecedented Glycosidase-Directed Anion Caging Agents

Bambusurils, BU[4] and BU[6], were used for the first time as multivalent scaffolds to link glycosidases inhibitors derived from 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ). Two linear DNJ ligands having six or nine carbon alkyl azido linkers or a trivalent DNJ dendron were grafted onto octapropargylated BU[4] and dodecapropargylated BU[6] using copper-catalyzed cycloaddition (CuAAC) to yield corresponding neoglycobambus[4] and neoglycobambus[6]urils bearing 8 to 24 iminosugars. The inhibition potencies of neoglycoBU[4], neoglycoBU[6] and neoglycoBU[6] caging anions were evaluated against Jack Bean α-mannosidase and compared to monovalent DNJ derivatives. Strong affinity enhancements per inhibitory head were obtained for the clusters holding trivalent dendrons with inhibitory constants in the nanomolar range (K_i = 24 nM for BU[4] with 24 DNJ units). Interestingly, the anion (bromide or iodide) encapsulated inside the cavity of BU[6] does not modify the inhibition potency of neoglycoBU[6], opening the way to water-soluble glycosidase-directed anion caging agents that may find applications in important fields such as bio(in)organic chemistry or oncology.

Multivalent 9-O-Acetylated-sialic acid glycoclusters as potent inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 infection

The recent emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants illustrates the urgent need to better understand the molecular details of the virus binding to its host cell and to develop anti-viral strategies. While many studies focused on the role of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor in the infection, others suggest the important role of cell attachment factors such as glycans. Here, we use atomic force microscopy to study these early binding events with the focus on the role of sialic acids (SA). We show that SARS-CoV-2 binds specifically to 9-O-acetylated-SA with a moderate affinity, supporting its role as an attachment factor during virus landing to cell host surfaces. For therapeutic purposes and based on this finding, we have designed novel blocking molecules with various topologies and carrying a controlled number of SA residues, enhancing affinity through a multivalent effect. Inhibition assays show that the AcSA-derived glycoclusters are potent inhibitors of cell binding and infectivity, offering new perspectives in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Cell surface attachment factors, such as glycans, play an important role in viral infection. Here, Petitjean et al. show that SARS-CoV-2 specifically binds to 9-Oacetylated sialic acid and have designed novel inhibitors based on multivalent derivatives.

3,4,5-Trihydroxypiperidine based multivalent glucocerebrosidase (GCase) enhancers

The synthesis of five new multivalent derivatives of a trihydroxypiperidine iminosugar was accomplished through copper catalyzed alkyne‐azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction of an azido ending piperidine and several propargylated scaffolds. The resulting multivalent architectures were assayed as inhibitors of lysosomal GCase, the defective enzyme in Gaucher disease. The multivalent compounds resulted in much more potent inhibitors than a parent monovalent reference compound, thus showing a good multivalent effect. Biological investigation of these compounds as pharmacological chaperones revealed that the trivalent derivative (12) gives a 2‐fold recovery of the GCase activity on Gaucher patient fibroblasts bearing the L444P/L444P mutations responsible for neuropathies. Additionally, a thermal denaturation experiment showed its ability to impart stability to the recombinant enzyme used in therapy.

Targeting cancer via Golgi α-mannosidase II inhibition: How far have we come in developing effective inhibitors?

Dysregulation of glycosylation pathways has been well documented in several types of cancer, where it often participates in cancer development and progression, especially cancer metastasis. Hence, inhibition of glycosidases such as mannosidases can disrupt the biosynthesis of glycans on cell surface glycoproteins and modify their role in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Several reviews have delineated the role of N-glycosylation in cancer, but the data regarding effective inhibitors remains sparse. Golgi α-mannosidase has been an attractive therapeutic target for preventing the formation of ß1,6-branched complex type N-glycans. However, due to its high structural similarity to the broadly specific lysosomal α-mannosidase, undesired co-inhibition occurs and this leads to serious side effects that complicates its potential role as a therapeutic agent. Even though extensive efforts have been geared towards the discovery of effective inhibitors, no breakthrough has been achieved thus far which could allow for their use in clinical settings. Improving the specificity of current inhibitors towards Golgi α-mannosidase is requisite in progressing this class of compounds in cancer chemotherapy. In this review, we highlight a few potent and selective inhibitors discovered up to the present to guide researchers for rational design of further effective inhibitors to overcome the issue of specificity.

Development of tacrine clusters as positively cooperative systems for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase

The synthesis of four tetra-tacrine clusters where the tacrine binding units are attached to a central scaffold via linkers of variable lengths is described. The multivalent inhibition potencies for the tacrine clusters were investigated for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Two of the tacrine clusters displayed a small but significant multivalent inhibition potency in which the binding affinity of each of the tacrine binding units increased up to 3.2 times when they are connected to the central scaffold.

Recent advances in multivalent carbon nanoform-based glycoconjugates

Multivalent carbohydrate-mediated interactions are fundamental to many biological processes, including disease mechanisms. To study these significant glycan-mediated interactions at a molecular level, carbon nanoforms such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, or graphene and their derivatives have been identified as promising biocompatible scaffolds that can mimic the multivalent presentation of biologically relevant glycans. In this minireview, we will summarize the most relevant examples of the last few years in the context of their applications.

Cu(I)-Catalyzed Click Chemistry in Glycoscience and Their Diverse Applications

Copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between organic azides and terminal alkynes, commonly known as CuAAC or click chemistry, has been identified as one of the most successful, versatile, reliable, and modular strategies for the rapid and regioselective construction of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles as diversely functionalized molecules. Carbohydrates, an integral part of living cells, have several fascinating features, including their structural diversity, biocompatibility, bioavailability, hydrophilicity, and superior ADME properties with minimal toxicity, which support increased demand to explore them as versatile scaffolds for easy access to diverse glycohybrids and well-defined glycoconjugates for complete chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological investigations. This review highlights the successful development of CuAAC or click chemistry in emerging areas of glycoscience, including the synthesis of triazole appended carbohydrate-containing molecular architectures (mainly glycohybrids, glycoconjugates, glycopolymers, glycopeptides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycoclusters, and glycodendrimers through regioselective triazole forming modular and bio-orthogonal coupling protocols). It discusses the widespread applications of these glycoproducts as enzyme inhibitors in drug discovery and development, sensing, gelation, chelation, glycosylation, and catalysis. This review also covers the impact of click chemistry and provides future perspectives on its role in various emerging disciplines of science and technology.

An overview of therapeutic potential of N-alkylated 1-deoxynojirimycin congeners

Polyhydroxylated alkaloids display a wide range of biological activities, suggesting their use in the treatment of various diseases. Their most famous representative, 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), is a natural product that shows α- and β-glucosidase inhibition. This molecule has been since converted into two clinically approved drugs i.e., Zavesca® and Glyset®, targeting type I Gaucher's disease and type II diabetes mellitus, respectively. This review examines the therapeutic potential of important DNJ congeners reported in last decade and presents concise mechanism of glycosidase inhibition. A brief overview of substituents conjugation's impact on DNJ scaffold (including N-alkylated DNJ derivatives, mono-valent, di-valent and multivalent DNJ congeners, N-[5-(adamantan-1-yl-methoxy)-pentyl]-1-deoxynojirimycin (AMP-DNM) look alike DNJ based lipophilic derivatives, AMP-DNM based neoglycoconjugates, DNJ click derivatives with varying carboxylic acids and aromatic moieties, conjugates of DNJ and glucose, and N-bridged DNJ analogues) towards various enzymes such as α/β glucosidase, porcine trehalase, as F508del-CFTR correctors, α-mannosidase, human placental β-glucocerebrosidase, N370S β-GCase, α-amylase and insect trehalase as potent and selective inhibitors have been discussed with potential bioactivities, which can provide inspiration for future studies.

Multivalent resorcinarene clusters decorated with DAB-1 inhitopes: targeting Golgi α-mannosidase from Drosophila melanogaster

Resorcinarene@DAB-1 clusters show a remarkable multivalent effect towards GMIIb over other α-mannosidases, due to a rebinding mechanism: two DAB-1 units of the cluster bind the two Zn-sites of the dimeric protein in an alternate way.

Synthesis and Glycosidase Inhibition Properties of Calix[8]arene-Based Iminosugar Click Clusters

A set of 6- to 24-valent clusters was constructed with terminal deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) inhibitory heads through C6 or C9 linkers by way of Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reactions between mono- or trivalent azido-armed iminosugars and calix[8]arene scaffolds differing in their valency and their rigidity but not in their size. The power of multivalency to upgrade the inhibition potency of the weak DNJ inhibitor (monovalent DNJ K_i being at 322 and 188 µM for C6 or C9 linkers, respectively) was evaluated on the model glycosidase Jack Bean α-mannosidase (JBα-man). Although for the clusters with the shorter C6 linker the rigidity of the scaffold was essential, these parameters had no influence for clusters with C9 chains: all of them showed rather good relative affinity enhancements per inhibitory epitopes between 70 and 160 highlighting the sound combination of the calix[8]arene core and the long alkyl arms. Preliminary docking studies were performed to get insights into the preferred binding modes.

Mannose-coated polydiacetylene (PDA)-based nanomicelles: synthesis, interaction with concanavalin A and application in the water solubilization and delivery of hydrophobic molecules

Carbohydrate-lectin interactions are involved in a number of relevant biological events including fertilization, immune response, cell adhesion, tumour cell metastasis, and pathogen infection. Lectins are also tissue specific, making carbohydrates not only promising drug candidates but also excellent low molecular weight ligands for active drug delivery system decorations. In order for these interactions to be effective multivalency is essential, as the interaction of a lectin with its cognate monovalent carbohydrate epitope usually takes place with low affinity. Unlike the covalent approach, supramolecular self-assembly of glyco-monomers mediated by non-covalent forces allows accessing multivalent systems with diverse topology, composition, and assembly dynamics in a single step. In order to fine-tune the size and sugar adaptability of spherical micelles at the nanoscale for an optimal glycoside cluster effect, herein we report the synthesis of mannose-coated static micelles from diacetylene-based mannopyranosyl glycolipids differing in the length of the poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) chains and the oxidation state of the anomeric sulfur atom. The reported shot-gun like synthetic approach for the synthesis of dilution-insensitive micelles is based on the ability of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids to self-assemble into micelles in water and to undergo an easy photopolymerization by a simple irradiation at 254 nm. The affinity of the obtained 6 nanosystems was assessed by enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA) using the mannose-specific concanavalin A lectin as a model receptor. Relative binding potency enhancements, compared to methyl α-d-mannopyranoside used as control, from 20-, to 29- to 300-fold on a sugar molar basis were observed for micelles derived from sulfonyl-, sulfinyl- and thioglycoside monomers with a tatraethyleneglycol spacer, respectively, indicative of a significant cluster glycoside effect. Moreover, pMic1 micelles are able to solubilize and slowly liberate lipophilic clinically relevant drugs, and show the enhanced cytotoxic effect of docetaxel toward prostate cancer cells. These findings highlight the potential of mannose-coated photopolymerized micelles pMic1 as an efficient nanovector for active delivery of cytotoxic hydrophobic molecules.

Carbohydrate supramolecular chemistry: beyond the multivalent effect

(Hetero)multivalency acts as a multichannel switch that shapes the supramolecular properties of carbohydrates in an intrinsically multifactorial biological context.

Multivalent glycoligands with lectin/enzyme dual specificity: self-deliverable glycosidase regulators

Multivalent mannosides with inherent macrophage recognition abilities, built on β-cyclodextrin, RAFT cyclopeptide or peptide dendrimer cores, trigger selective inhibition of lysosomal β-glucocerebrosidase or α-mannosidase depending on valency and topology, offering new opportunities in multitargeted drug design.

Pharmacological Chaperones for the Treatment of α-Mannosidosis

α-Mannosidosis (AM) results from deficient lysosomal α-mannosidase (LAMAN) activity and subsequent substrate accumulation in the lysosome, leading to severe pathology. Many of the AM-causative mutations compromise enzyme folding and could be rescued with purpose-designed pharmacological chaperones (PCs). We found that PCs combining a LAMAN glycone-binding motif based on the 5 N,6 O-oxomethylidenemannojirimycin (OMJ) glycomimetic core and different aglycones, in either mono- or multivalent displays, elicit binding modes involving glycone and nonglycone enzyme regions that reinforce the protein folding and stabilization potential. Multivalent derivatives exhibited potent enzyme inhibition that generally prevailed over the chaperone effect. On the contrary, monovalent OMJ derivatives with LAMAN aglycone binding area-fitting substituents proved effective as activity enhancers for several mutant LAMAN forms in AM patient fibroblasts and/or transfected MAN2 B1-KO cells. This translated into a significant improvement in endosomal/lysosomal function, reverting not only the primary LAMAN substrate accumulation but also the additional downstream consequences such as cholesterol accumulation.

Multivalent Effect in Glycosidase Inhibition: The End of the Beginning

Glycosidases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in a diversity of key biological processes such as energy uptake or cell wall degradation. The design of specific glycosidase inhibitors has been therefore the subject of intense research efforts in academia and pharmaceutical industry. However, until recently, the study of the impact of multivalency on glycosidase inhibition was almost completely neglected. The following account will review our ten year journey on the design of multivalent glycomimetics within our research group, from the discovery of the first strong multivalent effect in glycosidase inhibition to the high-resolution crystal structures of Jack bean α-mannosidase in complex with the multimeric inhibitor displaying the largest binding enhancements reported so far.

Di- and heptavalent nicotinic analogues to interfere with α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

In the field of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), recognized as important therapeutic targets, much effort has been dedicated to the development of nicotinic analogues to agonize or antagonize distinct homo- and heteropentamers nAChR subtypes, selectively. In this work we developed di- and heptavalent nicotinic derivatives based on ethylene glycol (EG) and cyclodextrin cores, respectively. The compounds showed a concentration dependent inhibition of acetylcholine-induced currents on α7 nAChR expressed by Xenopus oocytes. Interesting features were observed with the divalent nicotinic derivatives, acting as antagonists with varied inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) in function of the spacer arm length. The best divalent compounds showed a 16-fold lowered IC₅₀ compared to the monovalent reference (12 vs 195 µM). Docking investigations provide guidelines to rationalize these experimental findings.

Monitoring glycosidase activity for clustered sugar substrates, a study on β-glucuronidase

Enzymatically-triggered probes to determine glucuronidase hydrolysis kinetics for clustered substrates.

Synthesis, self-assembly behaviours and multivalent glycosidase inhibition effects of a deoxynojirimycin modified perylene bisimide derivative

A self-assembled multivalent glycosidase inhibitor based on perylene bisimide-deoxynojirimycin conjugates was constructed, inhibited α-mannosidase and exhibited a K_i value of 38 nM, increased approximately 2763-fold compared with the control drug (miglitol).

Structural Basis of Outstanding Multivalent Effects in Jack Bean α-Mannosidase Inhibition

Multivalent design of glycosidase inhibitors is a promising strategy for the treatment of diseases involving enzymatic hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in carbohydrates. An essential prerequisite for successful applications is the atomic-level understanding of how outstanding binding enhancement occurs with multivalent inhibitors. Herein we report the first high-resolution crystal structures of the Jack bean α-mannosidase (JBα-man) in apo and inhibited states. The three-dimensional structure of JBα-man in complex with the multimeric cyclopeptoid-based inhibitor displaying the largest binding enhancements reported so far provides decisive insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying multivalent effects in glycosidase inhibition.

Harnessing pyrrolidine iminosugars into dimeric structures for the rapid discovery of divalent glycosidase inhibitors

The synthesis of three libraries (1a-l, 1a'-l' and 2a-l) of dimeric iminosugars through CuAAC reaction between three different alkynyl pyrrolidines and a set of diazides was carried out. The resulting crude dimers were screened in situ against two α-fucosidases (libraries 1a-l and 1a'-l') and one β-galactosidase (2a-l). This method is pioneer in the search of divalent glycosidase inhibitors. It has allowed the rapid identification of dimer 1i as the best inhibitor of α-fucosidases from bovine kidney (K_i = 0.15 nM) and Homo sapiens (K_i = 60 nM), and dimer 2e as the best inhibitor of β-galactosidase from bovine liver (K_i = 5.8 μM). In order to evaluate a possible divalent effect in the inhibition, the synthesis and biological analysis of the reference monomers were also performed. Divalent effect was only detected in the inhibition of bovine liver β-galactosidase by dimer 2e.

Multimerization of DAB-1 onto Au GNPs affords new potent and selective N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) inhibitors

Gold glyconanoparticles (Au GNPs) decorated with the natural iminosugar DAB-1 at different densities are reported.

General Linker Diversification Approach to Bivalent Ligand Assembly: Generation of an Array of Ligands for the Cation-Independent Mannose 6-Phosphate Receptor

A generalized strategy is presented for the rapid assembly of a set of bivalent ligands with a variety of linking functionalities from a common monomer. Herein, an array of phosphatase-inert mannose-6-phosphonate-presenting ligands for the cation-independent-mannose 6-phosphate receptor (CI-MPR) is constructed. Receptor binding affinity varies with linking functionality-the simple amide and 1,5-triazole(tetrazole) being preferred over the 1,4-triazole. This approach is expected to find application across chemical biology, particularly in glycoscience, wherein multivalency often governs molecular recognition.

Multivalency as an action principle in multimodal lectin recognition and glycosidase inhibition: a paradigm shift driven by carbon-based glyconanomaterials

The last decade has witnessed a series of discoveries that question the traditional paradigm of multivalency as a "safe" strategy to enhance the binding affinity of a lectin receptor to its cognate carbohydrate ligand. Upon following the initial reports on the supplementary effects operating in the presence of a third carbohydrate species (heteromultivalent effect), the observation of functional promiscuity of glyco(mimetic)ligands elicited by (hetero)multivalency, spreading from lectins to glycoprocessing enzymes (inhibitory multivalent effect), has raised concerns about the potential consequences of glyconanomaterials binding to non-cognate proteins and creating messiness or noise in the processes they participate in. Carbon-based glycomaterials, specifically glyconanodiamonds and glycofullerenes, have been instrumental in increasing our awareness of the frequency of these lectin-enzyme crosstalk behaviours elicited by multivalency, driving a reformulation of the rules and concepts in glycoscience towards a "generalized multivalency" scenario.

Construction of giant glycosidase inhibitors from iminosugar-substituted fullerene macromonomers

An ultra-fast synthetic procedure based on grafting of twelve fullerene macromonomers onto a fullerene hexa-adduct core was used for the preparation of a giant molecule with 120 peripheral iminosugar residues. The inhibition profile of this giant iminosugar ball was evaluated against various glycosidases. In the particular case of the Jack bean α-mannosidase, a dramatic enhancement of the glycosidase inhibitory effect was observed for the giant molecule with 120 peripheral subunits as compared to that of the corresponding mono- and dodecavalent model compounds.

Nanotechnology in Glycomics: Applications in Diagnostics, Therapy, Imaging, and Separation Processes

This review comprehensively covers the most recent achievements (from 2013) in the successful integration of nanomaterials in the field of glycomics. The first part of the paper addresses the beneficial properties of nanomaterials for the construction of biosensors, bioanalytical devices, and protocols for the detection of various analytes, including viruses and whole cells, together with their key characteristics. The second part of the review focuses on the application of nanomaterials integrated with glycans for various biomedical applications, that is, vaccines against viral and bacterial infections and cancer cells, as therapeutic agents, for in vivo imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and for selective drug delivery. The final part of the review describes various ways in which glycan enrichment can be effectively done using nanomaterials, molecularly imprinted polymers with polymer thickness controlled at the nanoscale, with a subsequent analysis of glycans by mass spectrometry. A short section describing an active glycoprofiling by microengines (microrockets) is covered as well.

Functionalized calix[4]arenes as potential therapeutic agents

Calixarenes, composed of phenolic units linked by methylene bridges at the 2,6-positions, represent a versatile class of macrocyclic compounds in supramolecular chemistry that can host small molecules or ions in their well-defined hydrophobic cavities. In recent years, it has been recognized that this class of compounds has the potential to serve as platform for the design of biological active compounds. Therefore, the calixarenes functionalized with different pharmacophoric groups have been synthesized as target structure by many researchers and were further evaluated for their biological activities. Owing to their promising biological activities such as antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer, the functionalized calixarenes are recently receiving increased attention from pharmaceutical/medicinal chemistry community. In this review, we summarize and discuss the synthetic approaches and the biological potential of functionalized calixarenes, mainly focusing on the selected recent studies for a comprehensive and target-oriented information, which could help in the design and synthesis of new therapeutic agents leading to the development of clinically viable drugs based on these macrocyles.

Polymeric mannosides prevent DC-SIGN-mediated cell-infection by cytomegalovirus

Dextrans coated with triazolylheptylmannoside ligands block human cytomegalovirus trans-infection at picomolar polymer concentrations.

Mechanistic Insight into Heptosyltransferase Inhibition by using Kdo Multivalent Glycoclusters

The synthesis of unprecedented multimeric Kdo glycoclusters based on fullerene and calix[4]arene central scaffolds is reported. The compounds were used to study the mechanism and scope of multivalent glycosyltransferase inhibition. Multimeric mannosides based on porphyrin and pillar[5]arenes were also generated in a controlled manner. Twelve glycoclusters and their monomeric ligands were thus assayed against heptosyltransferase WaaC, which is an important bacterial glycosyltransferase that is involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. It was first found that all the multimers interact solely with the acceptor binding site of the enzyme even when the multimeric ligands mimic the heptose donor. Second, the novel Kdo glycofullerenes displayed very potent inhibition (Ki =0.14 μm for the best inhibitor); an inhibition level rarely observed with glycosyltransferases. Although the observed "multivalent effects" (i.e., the enhancement of affinity of a ligand when presented in a multimeric fashion) were in general modest, a dramatic effect of the central scaffold on the inhibition level was evidenced: the fullerene and the porphyrin scaffolds being by far superior to the calix- and pillar-arenes. We could also show, by dynamic light scattering analysis, that the best inhibitor had the propensity to form aggregates with the heptosyltransferase. This aggregative property may contribute to the global multivalent enzyme inhibition, but probably do not constitute the main origin of inhibition.

Efficient Synthesis of Dimeric Oxazoles, Piperidines and Tetrahydroisoquinolines from N-Substituted 2-Oxazolones

A mild and practical method for the construction of heterocycles from N-substituted 2-oxazolones through cascade, BF3 ⋅Et2 O/H2 O-catalyzed reactions involving iminium ion generation and trapping by external or internal olefinic and aryl moieties is described. Mechanistic and computational studies revealed the strong protic acid HBF4 as the initiating catalyst for these cascade reactions. Providing access to novel molecular diversity, these processes may facilitate chemical biology studies, drug discovery efforts and natural products synthesis.

Switching of carbohydrate nanofibers for regulating cell proliferation

We report switchable, fluorescent carbohydrate nanofibers formed through the self-assembly of aromatic rod amphiphiles with a combination of mannose epitopes and thermoresponsive oligoether dendrons. The carbohydrate nanofibers undergo reversible switching between carbohydrate-exposed and hidden states on their surface in response to a thermal signal, and have the ability to regulate cell proliferation.

Evaluation of monovalent and multivalent iminosugars to modulate Candida albicans β-1,2-mannosyltransferase activities

β-1,2-Linked oligomannosides substitute the cell wall of numerous yeast species. Several of those including Candida albicans may cause severe infections associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, especially in immunocompromised patients. β-1,2-Mannosides are known to be involved in the pathogenic process and to elicit an immune response from the host. In C. albicans, the synthesis of β-mannosides is under the control of a family of nine genes coding for putative β-mannosyltransferases. Two of them, CaBmt1 and CaBmt3, have been shown to initiate and prime the elongation of the β-mannosides on the cell-wall mannan core. In the present study, we have assessed the modulating activities of monovalent and multivalent iminosugar analogs on these enzymes in order to control the enzymatic bio-synthesis of β-mannosides. We have identified a monovalent deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) derivative that inhibits the CaBmt1-catalyzed initiating activity, and mono-, tetra- and polyvalent deoxymannojirimycin (DMJ) that modulate the CaBmt1 activity toward the formation of a single major product. Analysis of the aggregating properties of the multivalent iminosugars showed their ability to elicit clusterization of both CaBmt1 and CaBmt3, without affecting their activity. These results suggest promising roles for multivalent iminosugars as controlling agents for the biosynthesis of β-1,2 mannosides and for monovalent DNJ derivative as a first target for the design of future β-mannosyltransferase inhibitors.

A metal-free synthetic approach to peptide-based iminosugar clusters as novel multivalent glycosidase inhibitors

Oxime ligation allowed the preparation of a set of iminosugar clusters from which new Jack bean α-mannosidase inhibitors were identified.

Understanding multivalent effects in glycosidase inhibition using C-glycoside click clusters as molecular probes

Multivalent C-glycosides based on C₆₀ or β-cyclodextrin cores were designed to probe the influence of inhitopes in glycosidase binding events.

Expanding the library of divalent fucosidase inhibitors with polyamino and triazole-benzyl bridged bispyrrolidines

A small library of divalent fucosidase inhibitors containing pyrrolidine motifs were prepared and evaluated as α-fucosidase inhibitors.