A monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) derivative having the 6′-OH group substituted with an NH2 group was synthesized and coupled with the upstream terminal tetrasaccharide of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan (LAM) via an amide bond to create a novel type of MPLA-based fully synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine. The same tetrasaccharide was also coupled with MPLA at the 1-O-position. Immunological activities of the two synthetic conjugates were evaluated in mice and compared. Both afforded robust overall and IgG antibody responses, but intraperitoneal injection elicited responses significantly stronger than those from subcutaneous injection. It was thus speculated that MPLA conjugates might act via stimulating B1 lymphocytes present in the intrapleural and peritoneal cavities. Moreover, the 6′-N-conjugate afforded antibody titers much higher than those of the 1-O-conjugate. These results revealed not only the self-adjuvant property of MPLA conjugates to elicit robust IgG antibody responses but also the impact of MPLA structure on the immunological activity of its conjugates. It was concluded that LAM oligosaccharide-MPLA conjugates, especially 6′-N-linked, are promising candidates as antituberculosis vaccines worthy of further investigation. Additionally, the 6′-amino derivative of MPLA was proved to be a useful carrier for the development of fully synthetic carbohydrate-based conjugate vaccines.

Mycothiol (MSH) is the predominant low molecular weight thiol produced by actinomycetes, and it plays a pivotal role in the bacterial detoxication process. 1L-myo-Inositol-1-phosphate (1L-Ins-1-P) α-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAc-T), known as MshA, is the only glycosyltransferase involved in MSH biosynthesis. In this work, the MshA from Corynebacterium diphtheria, named as CdMshA, was expressed, purified, and studied in detail. Its enzymatic activity to transfer GlcNAc to 1L-Ins-1-P was confirmed by the isolation and rigorous characterization of its reaction product 3-phospho-1-D-myo-inositol-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-D-glucopyranoside. CdMshA was shown to accept only UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as its substrates among various tested glycosyl donors, such as UDP-GlcNAc, UDP-Gal, UDP-Glc, UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcA, and glycosyl acceptors, such as myo-inositol, 1L-Ins-1-P and 1D-Ins-1-P. The results have demonstrated the strict substrate selectivity of CdMshA. Furthermore, its reaction kinetics with UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as substrates were characterized, while site-directed mutagenesis of CdMshA disclosed that its amino acid residues N28, K81 and R157 were essential for its enzymatic activity.

A truncated form (AA32-1032) of group A streptococcus (GAS) C5a peptidase (ScpA), an important GAS virulence factor, and its mutants were prepared and examined to find suitable GAS vaccine candidates and conjugate vaccine carriers. Enzymatic evaluation of the recombinant proteins with a MALDI-TOF MS-based method to analyze the reaction indicated that D130 and N295 were not critical for its activity and S512 was significant but not absolutely required either. Therefore, ΔScpAD130A, ΔScpAN295A and ΔScpAS512A were not suitable vaccine and carrier protein candidates due to their remaining enzymatic activity. A single mutation of H193 to Ala abolished the ScpA activity completely, thereby identifying ΔScpAH193A as a promising candidate that was subjected to immunological studies in mouse. It was shown to elicit high titers of antigen-specific IgG1 antibodies and robust T cell-mediated immunities, verifying its potential as a GAS vaccine. Moreover, conjugating the trisaccharide repeating unit of GAS polysaccharide with ΔScpAH193A could convert the nonimmunogenic oligosaccharide into a highly active and T cell-dependent antigen, demonstrating the potential of ΔScpAH193A as a carrier protein to help formulate robust glycoconjugate vaccines.

•The trisaccharide repeating unit of B. cenocepacia and its dimeric hexasaccharide were synthesized via a convergent manner.•A trisaccharide 21 containing acetonide-modified rhamnose residue was proved to be an active acceptor for target synthesis.•The synthetic oligosaccharides 1–2 are useful antigen targets in developing glycoconjugate vaccine against Bcc diseases.The trisaccharide repeating unit of an O-antigen derived from Burkholderia cenocepacia and its dimer, i.e., α-L-Rhap-(1 → 3)-α-D-GalpNAc-(1 → 3)-β-D-GalpNAc-O(CH2)3N3 (1) and α-L-Rhap-(1 → 3)-α-D-GalpNAc-(1 → 3)-β-D-GalpNAc-(1 → 4)-α-L-Rhap-(1 → 3)-α-D-GalpNAc-(1 → 3)-β-D-GalpNAc-O(CH2)3N3 (2), respectively, were synthesized via a highly convergent strategy. Glycosylation of galactosaminyl acceptor 4 with galactosaminyl trichloroacetimidate donor 5 was followed by condensation of resulting disaccharide acceptor 12 with rhamnosyl imidate donor 6 to furnish stereoselectively trisaccharyl thioglycoside 3, which was used as a key and common glycosyl donor for the construction of both 1 and 2. Title molecule 1 was prepared by glycosylation of 3-azidopropanol with 3 and subsequently global deprotection, whereas coupling reaction of 3 with a trisaccharide acceptor 21 containing an 2,3-O-position acetonide-modified rhamnose residue, followed by global deprotection, generated the dimer 2 in a convergent [3 + 3] manner.Download high-res image (110KB)Download full-size image

•A trisaccharide repeating unit of the O-antigen from Burkholderia anthina and its dimer-hexasaccharide were synthesized via a highly convergent and efficient assembly strategy.•The α-1,2-linked disaccharide was successfully achieved by the armed-disarmed glycosylation strategy.•The synthetic oligosaccharide fragments are useful antigen targets for the development of O-antigen-based vaccines against B. anthina infectious disease.A trisaccharide repeating unit of the O-antigen from Burkholderia anthina, α-L-Rha-(1→2)-α-L-Rha-(1→2)-β-D-Gal-O(CH2)3NH2 (1), and its dimer, α-L-Rha-(1→2)-α-L-Rha-(1→2)-α-D-Gal-(1→3)-α-L-Rha-(1→2)-α-L-Rha-(1→2)-β-D-Gal-O(CH2)3NH2 (2), were synthesized via a highly convergent and efficient assembly strategy. Sequential glycosylation of galactosyl acceptor 6 with rhamnosyl thioglycoside 7, followed by condensation of the resulting disaccharide acceptor 9 with rhamnosyl imidate donor 10, gave the title molecule 1 after global deprotection. The title hexasaccharide 2 was assembled in a convergent [2+2+2] manner, in which α-1,2-linked disaccharide 12 was initially obtained by the coupling reaction of disarmed thiorhamnoside acceptor 15 with armed thiogalactoside donor 14. Sequential glycosylation of disaccharide acceptor 9 with thioglycoside donors 12 and 13 afforded the target compound 2 after global deprotection.

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is one of the major constituents of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall and an attractive molecular scaffold for antituberculosis drug and vaccine development. In this paper, a convergent strategy was developed for the synthesis of LAM oligosaccharides with an α-1,2-linked dimannopyranose cap at the nonreducing end. The strategy was highlighted by efficient coupling of separately prepared nonreducing end and reducing end oligosaccharides. Glycosylations were mainly achieved with thioglycoside donors, which gave excellent yields and stereoselectivity even for reactions between complex oligosaccharides. The strategy was utilized to successfully synthesize tetra-, hepta-, and undecasaccharides of LAM from d-arabinose in 10, 15, and 14 longest linear steps and 7.84, 7.50, and 2.59% overall yields, respectively. The resultant oligosaccharides with a free amino group at their reducing end were effectively conjugated with carrier proteins, including bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), via a bifunctional linker. Preliminary immunological studies on the KLH conjugates revealed that they could elicit robust antibody responses in mice and that the antigen structure had some influence on their immunological property, thus verifying the potential of the oligosaccharides for vaccine development and other immunological studies.

•Naturally occurring tigogenin triglycoside 1a and three derivatives 1b–d were prepared via an efficient one-pot sequential glycosylation strategy.•Partially protected thiogalactosides bearing unprotected 2,4-OH or 4-OH groups were used to significantly simplify the target molecule synthesis.•CCK-8 assays against HeLa tumor cell indicated that synthetic saponins 1a–d exhibited significantly higher anti-tumor activities than the positive control cisplatin.An efficient synthesis of naturally occurring tigogenin triglycoside 1a and its three derivatives 1b–d bearing different carbohydrate moieties, as well as their antitumor activities, is described. Partially protected thiogalactosides bearing unprotected 2,4-OH or 4-OH groups were used to facilitate regioselective reactions for one-pot sequential multi-step glycosylation, which has significantly simplified the target molecule synthesis. The synthetic saponins 1a–d exhibited much higher anti-tumor activities than the positive control cisplatin against the human epithelial cervical cancer cell (HeLa) as evaluated by CCK-8 assay.

The naturally derived trisaccharide steroidal saponin 1 and structurally modified derivatives 2 and 3 bearing the same sarsasapogenin aglycon were synthesized concisely via a direct transglycosylation strategy. The antitumor activities of the synthetic trisaccharide saponins 1–3 and their corresponding α-isomers 1a–3a were preliminarily evaluated against human gastric adenocarcinoma cell (MKN-45) and human epithelial cervical cancer cell (HeLa) by CCK-8 assay.

A practical method for the efficient and selective cleavage of chloroacetyl protecting group using tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride (TBAF) in THF solution at rt was disclosed.

N-Acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GlmU) from Escherichia coli K12 is a bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes both the acetyltransfer and uridyltransfer reactions in the prokaryotic UDP-GlcNAc biosynthetic pathway. In this study, we report the broad substrate specificity of the pyrophosphorylase domain of GlmU during its uridyltransfer reaction and the substrate priority is ranked in the following order: UTP > dUTP > dTTP >> CTP > dATP/dm6 ATP. This pyrophosphorylase domain of GlmU is also a tool to synthesize UDP-GlcNAc analogs, two examples of which were synthesized herein in multiple mg scale in vitro.

•The disaccharide repeating unit of B. ambifaria O-antigen and its oligomers were efficiently synthesized.•The synthetic molecules are structurally composed of a d-rhamnose residue and a unique d-6-deoxyaltrose residue.•The synthetic oligomers are useful antigen targets for the development of anti-bacterial vaccines.A disaccharide repeating unit of the O-antigen from Burkholderia ambifaria, 6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-O(CH2)3NH2 (1), and its dimer and trimer, 6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-(1 → 3)-6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-O(CH2)3NH2 (2) and 6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-(1 → 3)-6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-(1 → 3)-6-deoxy-β-d-Alt-(1 → 4)-α-d-Rha-O(CH2)3NH2 (3), were synthesized via a convergent strategy. The key disaccharyl thioglycoside 4 as a glycosyl donor was stereoselectively assembled by glycosylation of rhammnosyl acceptor 5 with 6-deoxy-altrosyl trichloroacetimidate donor 6b. The glycosidation of 4 with 3-azidopropanol followed by global deprotection afforded the target disaccharide 1. Further elongation of the carbohydrate chain of this glycosidation product with the disaccharyl donor 4 followed by global deprotection generated rapidly the dimeric tetrasaccharide 2 and the trimeric hexasaccharide 3 in a convergent [2 + 2] and [2 + 2 + 2] manner, respectively.

Mycothiol (MSH) is the predominant low molecular weight thiol produced by actinomycetes, and it plays a pivotal role in the bacterial detoxication process. 1L-myo-Inositol-1-phosphate (1L-Ins-1-P) α-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAc-T), known as MshA, is the only glycosyltransferase involved in MSH biosynthesis. In this work, the MshA from Corynebacterium diphtheria, named as CdMshA, was expressed, purified, and studied in detail. Its enzymatic activity to transfer GlcNAc to 1L-Ins-1-P was confirmed by the isolation and rigorous characterization of its reaction product 3-phospho-1-D-myo-inositol-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-D-glucopyranoside. CdMshA was shown to accept only UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as its substrates among various tested glycosyl donors, such as UDP-GlcNAc, UDP-Gal, UDP-Glc, UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcA, and glycosyl acceptors, such as myo-inositol, 1L-Ins-1-P and 1D-Ins-1-P. The results have demonstrated the strict substrate selectivity of CdMshA. Furthermore, its reaction kinetics with UDP-GlcNAc and 1L-Ins-1-P as substrates were characterized, while site-directed mutagenesis of CdMshA disclosed that its amino acid residues N28, K81 and R157 were essential for its enzymatic activity.

An efficient synthesis of the 3-aminopropyl glycoside of the biological repeating unit of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 23F capsular polysaccharide (CPS) was accomplished. The synthetic target contained a tetrasaccharide with a phosphoglycerol branch. Its oligosaccharide backbone was assembled via linear glycosylation, and the challenging β-rhamnosyl linkage in its structure was achieved stereospecifically through naphthylmethyl-assisted intramolecular aglycon delivery (IAD). The remaining 1,2-trans glycosylation reactions were executed in excellent yields and stereoselectivity based on neighboring group participation. The phosphoglycerol branch was installed by the phosphoramidite method with benzylidene-protected glycerol 2-phosphoramidite as the substrate. Eventually, the target molecule was synthesized from monosaccharide building blocks in 17 longest linear steps and a 3.85% overall yield. In addition, the synthetic target also contained a free amino group at its reducing end, facilitating its conjugation with other molecules for various biological studies and applications.