5-Amino-5-Deoxy-1-Thioglucopyranosides-Synthesis of Thioglycoside Derivatives of Nojirimycin

sp2-Iminosugar azobenzene O-glycosides: Light-sensitive glycosidase inhibitors with unprecedented tunability and switching factors

The conventional approach to developing light-sensitive glycosidase activity regulators, involving the combination of a glycomimetic moiety and a photoactive azobenzene module, results in conjugates with differences in glycosidase inhibitory activity between the interchangeable E and Z-isomers at the azo group that are generally below one-order of magnitude. In this study, we have exploited the chemical mimic character of sp2-iminosugars to access photoswitchable p- and o-azobenzene α-O-glycosides based on the gluco-configured representative ONJ. Notably, we achieved remarkably high switching factors for glycosidase inhibition, favoring either the E- or Z-isomer depending on the aglycone structure. Our data also indicate a correlation between the isomeric state of the azobenzene module and the selectivity towards α- and β-glucosidase isoenzymes. The most effective derivative reached over a 103-fold higher inhibitory potency towards human β-glucocerebrosidase in the Z as compared with the E isomeric form. This sharp contrast is compatible with ex-vivo activation and programmed self-deactivation at physiological temperatures, positioning it as a prime candidate for pharmacological chaperone therapy in Gaucher disease. Additionally, our results illustrate that chemical tailoring enables the engineering of photocommutators with the ability to toggle inhibition between α- and β-glucosidase enzymes in a reversible manner, thus expanding the versatility and potential therapeutic applications of this approach.

Derivatives of (2R,3R,4S)-2-aminomethylpyrrolidine-3,4-diol are selective alpha-mannosidase inhibitors

A collection of (2R,3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxypyrrolidin-2-yl derivatives have been tested for their inhibitory activities toward 25 glycosidases. Competitive (K(i)=7.4 microM) and selective inhibition of alpha-mannosidase from jack bean has been found for (2R,3R,4S)-2-[(benzylamino)methyl]pyrrolidine-3,4-diol and other derivatives.