RESUMEN

Synthesis of spacer-armed pseudodi-, pseudotetra-, and pseudohexasaccharides related to the capsular phosphoglycan of Haemophilus influenzae type a, the second most virulent serotype of H. influenzae (after type b), was performed for the first time via iterative chain elongation using H-phosphonate chemistry for the formation of inter-unit phosphodiester bridges. These compounds were prepared for the design of neoglycoconjugates, as exemplified by the transformation of the obtained pseudohexasaccharide derivative into a biotinylated glycoconjugate suitable for use in immunological studies, particularly in diagnostic screening systems as a coating antigen for streptavidin-coated plates and chip slides.

RESUMEN

High-resolution electrospray mass spectra in positive and negative ion modes (MS and MS/MS) were measured and described for biotinylated hexaethylene glycol (HEG) connected molecular probes bearing HNK-1 (abbreviation of human natural killer cell-1 epitope) antigenic trisaccharide (1) and its non-sulfated analogue (2). For molecular probe 2, in its CID MS/MS of [M+2Na](2+), unexpected peak at m/z 530.2475 [C22H41N3O8SNa](+) was observed and attributed to the fragmentation of the aglycone at the end of the HEG chain distant from the biotin fragment. No homologous ions having the difference C2H4O smaller than that one were observed. The same cleavage was revealed in negative ion spectra. A similar fragmentation was found for other non-sulfated, biotinylated HEG-spacered molecular probes thus demonstrates this type of fragmentation characteristic for such glycosides.

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RESUMEN

Two new triterpenoid saponins 1 and 2 were isolated from the methanol extract of the roots of Acanthophyllum gypsophiloides Regel. These saponins have quillaic acid or gypsogenin moieties as an aglycon, and both bear similar sets of two oligosaccharide chains, which are 3-O-linked to the triterpenoid part trisaccharide α-L-Arap-(1→3)-[α-D-Galp-(1→2)]-ß-D-GlcpA and pentasaccharide ß-D-Xylp-(1→3)-ß-D-Xylp-(1→3)-α-L-Rhap-(1→2)-[ß-D-Quip-(1→4)]-ß-D-Fucp connected through an ester linkage to C-28. The structures of the obtained saponins were elucidated by a combination of mass spectrometry and 2D NMR spectroscopy. A study of acute toxicity, hemolytic, anti-inflammatory, immunoadjuvant and antifungal activity was carried out. Both saponins 1 and 2 were shown to exhibit immunoadjuvant properties within the vaccine composition with keyhole limpet hemocyanin-based immunogen. The availability of saponins 1 and 2 as individual pure compounds from the extract of the roots of A. gypsophiloides makes it a prospective source of immunoactive agents.

RESUMEN

The human natural killer cell carbohydrate, HNK-1, plays function-conducive roles in peripheral nerve regeneration and synaptic plasticity. It is also the target of autoantibodies in polyneuropathies. It is thus important to synthesize structurally related HNK-1 carbohydrates for optimizing its function-conducive roles, and for diagnosis and neutralization of autoantibodies in the fatal Guillain-Barré syndrome. As a first step toward these goals, we have synthesized several HNK-1 carbohydrate derivatives to assess the specificity of monoclonal HNK-1 antibodies from rodents: 2-aminoethyl glycosides of selectively O-sulfated trisaccharide corresponding to the HNK-1 antigen, its nonsulfated analogue, and modified structures containing 3-O-fucosyl or 6-O-sulfo substituents in the N-acetylglucosamine residues. These were converted, together with several related oligosaccharides, into biotin-tagged probes to analyze the precise carbohydrate specificity of two anti-HNK-1 antibodies by surface plasmon resonance that revealed a crucial role of the glucuronic acid in antibody binding. The contribution of the different oligosaccharide moieties in the interaction was shown by saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR of the complex consisting of the HNK-1 pentasaccharide and the HNK-1 412 antibody.

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