Regioselective cycloaddition of La2@I(h)-C80 with tetracyanoethylene oxide: formation of an endohedral dimetallofullerene adduct featuring enhanced electron-accepting character.

We describe the regioselective cycloaddition of La(2)@I(h)-C(80) with tetracyanoethylene oxide (TCNEO), which enabled the formation of the corresponding adduct having a tetracyanotetrahydrofuran moiety. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the cycloaddition took place as a [5,6] addition. Along with dynamic swing motion of the metal atoms, the results of this electrochemical study demonstrate that TCNEO addition enhanced the electron-accepting character of La(2)@I(h)-C(80) and that the first reduction potential of the adduct reached -0.21 V versus the ferrocene/ferrocenium couple, which is the lowest value reported for endohedral metallofullerenes and their derivatives to date.

Thermal carbosilylation of endohedral dimetallofullerene La(2)@I(h)-C(80) with silirane.

Thermal carbosilylation of endohedral dimetallofullerene La(2)@I(h)-C(80) with silirane (silacyclopropane) is reported herein for the first time. Two diastereomers of the carbosilylated La(2)@I(h)-C(80) have been isolated and characterized. The fascinating molecular structure of one diastereomer of the carbosilylated derivatives has been determined unambiguously using X-ray crystallographic analysis. Detailed characteristics of the molecular structures including their metal atom movements have also been revealed using NMR spectroscopic studies and computational calculations. Results revealed that two La atoms move dynamically inside the carbon sphere. Furthermore, electrochemical study has demonstrated that carbosilylation is effective to fine-tune the La(2)@I(h)-C(80) electronic properties.

Kinetic properties and substrate specificities of two recombinant human N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-IV isozymes.

N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT)-IV catalyzes the formation of the GlcNAcbeta1-4 branch on the GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-3 arm of the core structure of N-glycans. Two human GnT-IV isozymes (GnT-IVa and GnT-IVb) had been identified, which exhibit different expression profiles among human tissues and cancer cell lines. To clarify the enzymatic properties of the respective enzymes, their kinetic parameters were determined using recombinant full-length enzymes expressed in COS7 cells. The K (m) of human GnT-IVb for UDP-GlcNAc was estimated to be 0.24 mM, which is 2-fold higher than that of human GnT-IVa. The K (m) values of GnT-IVb for pyridylaminated (PA) acceptor sugar chains with different branch numbers were 3- to 6-fold higher than those of GnT-IVa. To compare substrate specificities more precisely, we generated recombinant soluble enzymes of human GnT-IVa and GnT-IVb with N-terminal flag tags. Both enzymes showed similar substrate specificities as determined using fourteen PA-sugar chains. They preferred complex-type N-glycans over hybrid-types. Among the complex-type N-glycans tested, the relative activities of both enzymes were increased in proportion to the number of GlcNAc branches on the Man alpha1-6 arm. The Man alpha1-6 arm of the acceptors was not essential for their activities because a linear pentasaccharide lacking this arm, GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-3Manbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-4 GlcNAc-PA, was a substrate for both enzymes. These results indicate that human GnT-IVb exhibits the same acceptor substrate specificities as human GnT-IVa, although GnT-IVb has lower affinities for donors or acceptors than GnT-IVa. This suggests that GnT-IVa is more active than GnT-IVb under physiological conditions and that it primarily contributes to the biosynthesis of N-glycans.

Dietary and genetic control of glucose transporter 2 glycosylation promotes insulin secretion in suppressing diabetes.

Pancreatic beta cell-surface expression of glucose transporter 2 (Glut-2) is essential for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, thereby controlling blood glucose homeostasis in response to dietary intake. We show that the murine GlcNAcT-IVa glycosyltransferase is required for Glut-2 residency on the beta cell surface by constructing a cell-type- and glycoprotein-specific N-glycan ligand for pancreatic lectin receptors. Loss of GlcNAcT-IVa, or the addition of glycan-ligand mimetics, attenuates Glut-2 cell-surface half-life, provoking endocytosis with redistribution into endosomes and lysosomes. The ensuing impairment of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion leads to metabolic dysfunction diagnostic of type 2 diabetes. Remarkably, the induction of diabetes by chronic ingestion of a high-fat diet is associated with reduced GlcNAcT-IV expression and attenuated Glut-2 glycosylation coincident with Glut-2 endocytosis. We infer that beta cell glucose-transporter glycosylation mediates a link between diet and insulin production that typically suppresses the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.