ABSTRACT
Glycoconjugates are an important class of biomolecules that regulate numerous biological events in cells. However, these complex, medium-size molecules are metabolically unstable, which hampers detailed investigations of their functions as well as their potential application as pharmaceuticals. Here we report sialidase-resistant analogues of ganglioside GM3 containing a monofluoromethylene linkage instead of the native O-sialoside linkage. Stereoselective synthesis of CHF-linked disaccharides and kinetically controlled Au(I)-catalyzed glycosylation efficiently furnished both stereoisomers of CHF-linked as well as CF 2 - and CH 2 -linked GM3 analogues. Like native GM3, the C-linked GM3 analogues inhibited the autophosphorylation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor induced by EGF in vitro. Assay of the proliferation-enhancing activity toward Had-1 cells together with NMR-based conformational analysis showed that the (S)-CHF-linked GM3 analogue with exo-gauche conformation is the most potent of the synthesized compounds. Our findings suggest that exo-anomeric conformation is important for the biological functions of GM3.
ABSTRACT
RE derivatives, which are cell-permeable and non-electrophilic dual-specificity protein phosphatase inhibitors developed in our laboratory, inhibit CDC25A/B non-competitively, as determined by means of kinetic experiments. To identify the binding site of RE derivatives, we designed and synthesized the new probe molecule RE142, having a Michael acceptor functionality for covalent bond formation with the enzyme, a biotin tag to enable enrichment of probe-bound peptide(s), and a chemically cleavable linker to facilitate release of probe-bound peptides from avidin beads. LC-MS analysis indicated that RE142 binds to one of the residues Cys384-Tyr386 of CDC25A, within a pocket adjacent to the catalytic site.
