Synthesis of α-Deoxymono and Difluorohexopyranosyl 1-Phosphates and Kinetic Evaluation with Thymidylyl- and Guanidylyltransferases

2,2-Difluoro Derivatives of Fucose Can Inhibit Cell Surface Fucosylation without Causing Slow Transfer to Acceptors

Fucosyl transferases (FUTs) are enzymes that transfer fucose (Fuc) from GDP-Fuc to acceptor substrates, resulting in fucosylated glycoconjugates that are involved in myriad physiological and disease processes. Previously, it has been shown that per-O-acetylated 2-F-Fuc can be taken up by cells and converted into GDP-2-F-Fuc, which is a competitive inhibitor of FUTs. Furthermore, it can act as a feedback inhibitor of de novo biosynthesis of GDP-Fuc resulting in reduced glycoconjugate fucosylation. However, GDP-2-F-Fuc and several other reported analogues are slow substrates, which can result in unintended incorporation of unnatural fucosides. Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of GDP-2,2-di-F-Fuc and the corresponding prodrugs as an inhibitor of FUTs. This compound lacks the slow transfer activity observed for the monofluorinated counterpart. Furthermore, it was found that GDP-2-F-Fuc and GDP-2,2-di-F-Fuc have similar Ki values for the various human fucosyl transferases, while the corresponding phosphate prodrugs exhibit substantial differences in inhibition of cell surface fucosylation. Quantitative sugar nucleotide analysis by Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) indicates that the 2,2-di-F-Fuc prodrug has substantially greater feedback inhibitory activity. It was also found that by controlling the concentration of the inhibitor, varying degrees of inhibition of the biosynthesis of different types of fucosylated N-glycan structures can be achieved. These findings open new avenues for the modulation of fucosylation of cell surface glycoconjugates.

Synthesis of a novel fluorinated phosphonyl C-glycoside, (3-deoxy-3-fluoro-β-d-glucopyranosyl)methylphosphonate, a potential inhibitor of β-phosphoglucomutase

β-phosphoglucomutase (βPGM) catalyzes the conversion of β-glucose 1-phosphate (βG1P) to glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), a universal source of cellular energy, in a two-step process. Transition state analogue (TSA) complexes formed from substrate analogues and a metal fluoride (MgF3- and AlF4-) enable analysis of each of these enzymatic steps independently. Novel substrate analogues incorporating fluorine offer opportunities to interrogate the enzyme mechanism using 19F NMR spectroscopy. Herein, the synthesis of a novel fluorinated phosphonyl C-glycoside (3-deoxy-3-fluoro-β-d-glucopyranosyl)methylphosphonate (1), in 12 steps (0.85 % overall yield) is disclosed. A four-stage synthetic strategy was employed, involving: 1) fluorine addition to the monosaccharide, 2) selective anomeric deprotection, 3) phosphonylation of the anomeric centre, and 4) global deprotection. Analysis of βPGM and 1 will be reported in due course.

Reverse thiophosphorylase activity of a glycoside phosphorylase in the synthesis of an unnatural Manβ1,4GlcNAc library

β-Mannosides are ubiquitous in nature, with diverse roles in many biological processes. Notably, Manβ1,4GlcNAc a constituent of the core N-glycan in eukaryotes was recently identified as an immune activator, highlighting its potential for use in immunotherapy. Despite their biological significance, the synthesis of β-mannosidic linkages remains one of the major challenges in glycoscience. Here we present a chemoenzymatic strategy that affords a series of novel unnatural Manβ1,4GlcNAc analogues using the β-1,4-d-mannosyl-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine phosphorylase, BT1033. We show that the presence of fluorine in the GlcNAc acceptor facilitates the formation of longer β-mannan-like glycans. We also pioneer a "reverse thiophosphorylase" enzymatic activity, favouring the synthesis of longer glycans by catalysing the formation of a phosphorolysis-stable thioglycoside linkage, an approach that may be generally applicable to other phosphorylases.

Chemical synthesis of amphiphilic glycoconjugates: Access to amino, fluorinated and sulfhydryl oleyl glucosides

Amphiphilic glycoconjugates offer an important prospect for development as chemical biology tools and biosurfactants. The chemical synthesis of such materials is required to expedite such prospect, compounded by the example of oleyl glycosides. Herein, we report a mild and reliable glycosylation method to access oleyl glucosides, glycosidating oleyl alcohol with α-trichloroacetimidate donors. We demonstrate capability for this methodology, extending it to synthesise the first examples of pyranose-component fluorination and sulfhydryl modifications within glucosides and glucosamines of oleyl alcohol. These compounds provide an exciting series of tools to explore processes and materials that utilise oleyl glycosides, including as probes for glycosphingolipid metabolism.

Synthesis of C6-modified mannose 1-phosphates and evaluation of derived sugar nucleotides against GDP-mannose dehydrogenase

Sufferers of cystic fibrosis are at significant risk of contracting chronic bacterial lung infections. The dominant pathogen in these cases is mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Such infections are characterised by overproduction of the exopolysaccharide alginate. We present herein the design and chemoenzymatic synthesis of sugar nucleotide tools to probe a critical enzyme within alginate biosynthesis, GDP-mannose dehydrogenase (GMD). We first synthesise C6-modified glycosyl 1-phosphates, incorporating 6-amino, 6-chloro and 6-sulfhydryl groups, followed by their evaluation as substrates for enzymatic pyrophosphorylative coupling. The development of this methodology enables access to GDP 6-chloro-6-deoxy-ᴅ-mannose and its evaluation against GMD.

Chemical Biology Tools for Modulating and Visualizing Gram-Negative Bacterial Surface Polysaccharides

Bacterial cells present a wide diversity of saccharides that decorate the cell surface and help mediate interactions with the environment. Many Gram-negative cells express O-antigens, which are long sugar polymers that makeup the distal portion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that constitutes the surface of the outer membrane. This review highlights chemical biology tools that have been developed in recent years to facilitate the modulation of O-antigen synthesis and composition, as well as related bacterial polysaccharide pathways, and the detection of unique glycan sequences. Advances in the biochemistry and structural biology of O-antigen biosynthetic machinery are also described, which provide guidance for the design of novel chemical and biomolecular probes. Many of the tools noted here have not yet been utilized in biological systems and offer researchers the opportunity to investigate the complex sugar architecture of Gram-negative cells.

Enzymatic glycosylation involving fluorinated carbohydrates

Fluorinated carbohydrates, where one (or more) fluorine atom(s) have been introduced into a carbohydrate structure, typically through deoxyfluorination chemistry, have a wide range of applications in the glycosciences. Fluorinated derivatives of galactose, glucose, N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, talose, fucose and sialic acid have been employed as either donor or acceptor substrates in glycosylation reactions. Fluorinated donors can be synthesised by synthetic methods or produced enzymatically from chemically fluorinated sugars. The latter process is mediated by enzymes such as kinases, phosphorylases and nucleotidyltransferases. Fluorinated donors produced by either method can subsequently be used in glycosylation reactions mediated by glycosyltransferases, or phosphorylases yielding fluorinated oligosaccharide or glycoconjugate products. Fluorinated acceptor substrates are typically synthesised chemically. Glycosyltransferases are most commonly used in conjunction with natural donors to further elaborate fluorinated acceptor substrates. Glycoside hydrolases are used with either fluorinated donors or acceptors. The activity of enzymes towards fluorinated sugars is often lower than towards the natural sugar substrates irrespective of donor or acceptor. This may be in part attributed to elimination of the contribution of the hydroxyl group to the binding of the substrate to enzymes. However, in many cases, enzymes still maintain a significant activity, and reactions may be optimised where necessary, enabling enzymes to be used more successfully in the production of fluorinated carbohydrates. This review describes the current state of the art regarding chemoenzymatic production of fluorinated carbohydrates, focusing specifically on examples of the enzymatic production of activated fluorinated donors and enzymatic glycosylation involving fluorinated sugars as either glycosyl donors or acceptors.

Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Fluorinated Cellodextrins Identifies a New Allomorph for Cellulose-Like Materials*

Understanding the fine details of the self-assembly of building blocks into complex hierarchical structures represents a major challenge en route to the design and preparation of soft-matter materials with specific properties. Enzymatically synthesised cellodextrins are known to have limited water solubility beyond DP9, a point at which they self-assemble into particles resembling the antiparallel cellulose II crystalline packing. We have prepared and characterised a series of site-selectively fluorinated cellodextrins with different degrees of fluorination and substitution patterns by chemoenzymatic synthesis. Bearing in mind the potential disruption of the hydrogen-bond network of cellulose II, we have prepared and characterised a multiply 6-fluorinated cellodextrin. In addition, a series of single site-selectively fluorinated cellodextrins was synthesised to assess the structural impact upon the addition of one fluorine atom per chain. The structural characterisation of these materials at different length scales, combining advanced NMR spectroscopy and microscopy methods, showed that a 6-fluorinated donor substrate yielded multiply 6-fluorinated cellodextrin chains that assembled into particles presenting morphological and crystallinity features, and intermolecular interactions, that are unprecedented for cellulose-like materials.

Fluorinated carbohydrates as chemical probes for molecular recognition studies. Current status and perspectives

This review provides an extensive summary of the effects of carbohydrate fluorination with regard to changes in physical, chemical and biological properties with respect to regular saccharides. The specific structural, conformational, stability, reactivity and interaction features of fluorinated sugars are described, as well as their applications as probes and in chemical biology.

Bioisosteres of Carbohydrate Functional Groups in Glycomimetic Design

The aberrant presentation of carbohydrates has been linked to a number of diseases, such as cancer metastasis and immune dysregulation. These altered glycan structures represent a target for novel therapies by modulating their associated interactions with neighboring cells and molecules. Although these interactions are highly specific, native carbohydrates are characterized by very low affinities and inherently poor pharmacokinetic properties. Glycomimetic compounds, which mimic the structure and function of native glycans, have been successful in producing molecules with improved pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) features. Several strategies have been developed for glycomimetic design such as ligand pre-organization or reducing polar surface area. A related approach to developing glycomimetics relies on the bioisosteric replacement of carbohydrate functional groups. These changes can offer improvements to both binding affinity (e.g., reduced desolvation costs, enhanced metal chelation) and pharmacokinetic parameters (e.g., improved oral bioavailability). Several examples of bioisosteric modifications to carbohydrates have been reported; this review aims to consolidate them and presents different possibilities for enhancing core interactions in glycomimetics.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Fluorinated Galactopyranosides as Potential Molecular Probes for Galactophilic Proteins: Assessment of Monofluorogalactoside-LecA Interactions

The replacement of hydroxyl groups by fluorine atoms on hexopyranoside scaffolds may allow access to invaluable tools for studying various biochemical processes. As part of ongoing activities toward the preparation of fluorinated carbohydrates, a systematic investigation involving the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of mono- and polyfluorinated galactopyranosides is described. Various monofluorogalactopyranosides, a trifluorinated, and a tetrafluorinated galactopyranoside have been prepared using a Chiron approach. Given the scarcity of these compounds in the literature, in addition to their synthesis, their biological profiles were evaluated. Firstly, the fluorinated compounds were investigated as antiproliferative agents using normal human and mouse cells in comparison with cancerous cells. Most of the fluorinated compounds showed no antiproliferative activity. Secondly, these carbohydrate probes were used as potential inhibitors of galactophilic lectins. The first transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy (TROSY) NMR experiments were performed on these interactions, examining chemical shift perturbations of the backbone resonances of LecA, a virulence factor from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, taking advantage of the fluorine atom, the ¹⁹ F NMR resonances of the monofluorogalactopyranosides were directly monitored in the presence and absence of LecA to assess ligand binding. Lastly, these results were corroborated with the binding potencies of the monofluorinated galactopyranoside derivatives by isothermal titration calorimetry experiments. Analogues with fluorine atoms at C-3 and C-4 showed weaker affinities with LecA as compared to those with the fluorine atom at C-2 or C-6. This research has focused on the chemical synthesis of "drug-like" low-molecular-weight inhibitors that circumvent drawbacks typically associated with natural oligosaccharides.

Acyl Glycosides through Stereospecific Glycosyl Cross-Coupling: Rapid Access to C(sp3)-Linked Glycomimetics

Replacement of a glycosidic bond with hydrolytically stable C-C surrogates is an efficient strategy to access glycomimetics with improved physicochemical and pharmacological properties. We describe here a stereoretentive cross-coupling reaction of glycosyl stannanes with C(sp2)- and C(sp3)-thio(seleno)esters suitable for the preparation C-acyl glycosides as synthetic building blocks to obtain C(sp3)-linked and fluorinated glycomimetics. First, we identified a set of standardized conditions employing a Pd(0) precatalyst, CuCl additive, and phosphite ligand that provided access to C-acyl glycosides without deterioration of anomeric integrity and decarbonylation of the acyl donors (>40 examples). Second, we demonstrated that C(sp3)-glycomimetics could be introduced into the anomeric position via a direct conversion of C1 ketones. Specifically, the conversion of the carbonyl group into a CF2 mimetic is an appealing method to access valuable fluorinated analogues. We also illustrate that the introduction of other carbonyl-based groups into the C1 position of mono- and oligosaccharides can be accomplished using the corresponding acyl donors. This protocol is amenable to late-stage glycodiversification and programmed mutation of the C-O bond into hydrolytically stable C-C bonds. Taken together, stereoretentive anomeric acylation represents a convenient method to prepare a diverse set of glycan mimetics with minimal synthetic manipulations and with absolute control of anomeric configuration.

A Chiron approach towards the stereoselective synthesis of polyfluorinated carbohydrates

The replacement of hydroxyl groups by fluorine atoms on hexopyranose scaffolds may allow access to the discovery of new chemical entities possessing unique physical, chemical and ultimately even biological properties. The prospect of significant effects generated by such multiple and controlled substitutions encouraged us to develop diverse synthetic routes towards the stereoselective synthesis of polyfluorinated hexopyranoses, six of which are unprecedented. Hence, we report the synthesis of heavily fluorinated galactose, glucose, mannose, talose, allose, fucose, and galacturonic acid methyl ester using a Chiron approach from inexpensive levoglucosan. Structural analysis of single-crystal X-ray diffractions and NMR studies confirm the conservation of favored ⁴C₁ conformation for fluorinated carbohydrate analogs, while a slightly distorted conformation due to repulsive 1,3-diaxial F···F interaction is observed for the trifluorinated talose derivative. Finally, the relative stereochemistry of multi-vicinal fluorine atoms has a strong effect on the lipophilicities (logP).

Polyfluorinated hexopyranoses display unique physical, chemical and biological properties, however their stereoselective synthesis is highly challenging. Here, the authors report a synthetic approach based on the chemical manipulation of inexpensive levoglucosan to obtain heavily fluorinated monosaccharides stereoselectively.

Discovery of a Kojibiose Phosphorylase in Escherichia coli K-12

The substrate profiles for three uncharacterized enzymes (YcjM, YcjT, and YcjU) that are expressed from a cluster of 12 genes ( ycjM-W and ompG) of unknown function in Escherichia coli K-12 were determined. Through a comprehensive bioinformatic and steady-state kinetic analysis, the catalytic function of YcjT was determined to be kojibiose phosphorylase. In the presence of saturating phosphate and kojibiose (α-(1,2)-d-glucose-d-glucose), this enzyme catalyzes the formation of d-glucose and β-d-glucose-1-phosphate ( k_cat = 1.1 s^-1, K_m = 1.05 mM, and k_cat/ K_m = 1.12 × 10³ M^-1 s^-1). Additionally, it was also shown that in the presence of β-d-glucose-1-phosphate, YcjT can catalyze the formation of other disaccharides using 1,5-anhydro-d-glucitol, l-sorbose, d-sorbitol, or l-iditol as a substitute for d-glucose. Kojibiose is a component of cell wall lipoteichoic acids in Gram-positive bacteria and is of interest as a potential low-calorie sweetener and prebiotic. YcjU was determined to be a β-phosphoglucomutase that catalyzes the isomerization of β-d-glucose-1-phosphate ( k_cat = 21 s^-1, K_m = 18 μM, and k_cat/ K_m = 1.1 × 10⁶ M^-1 s^-1) to d-glucose-6-phosphate. YcjU was also shown to exhibit catalytic activity with β-d-allose-1-phosphate, β-d-mannose-1-phosphate, and β-d-galactose-1-phosphate. YcjM catalyzes the phosphorolysis of α-(1,2)-d-glucose-d-glycerate with a k_cat = 2.1 s^-1, K_m = 69 μM, and k_cat/ K_m = 3.1 × 10⁴ M^-1 s^-1.

Ring strain-dictated divergent fluorinating Prins cyclization or semipinacol rearrangement

We have developed ring-strain dictated divergent diastereoselective fluorinating Prins cyclizations or semipinacol rearrangements to access a range of tetrahydropyran derivatives.