Synthesis and biology of oligoethylene glycol linked naphthoxylosides.

Proteoglycans (PGs) are important macromolecules in mammalian cells, consisting of a core protein substituted with carbohydrate chains, known as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Simple xylosides carrying hydrophobic aglycons can enter cells and act as primers for GAG chain synthesis, independent of the core protein. Previously it has been shown that aromatic aglycons can be separated from the sugar residue by short linkers without affecting the GAG priming ability. To further investigate the effects of the xylose-aglycon distance on the GAG priming ability, we have synthesized xyloside derivatives with 2-naphthyl and 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl) moieties connected to xylose, directly, via a methylene bridge, or with oligoethylene glycol linkers of three different lengths. The GAG priming ability and the antiproliferative activity of the xylosides, as well as the composition of the xyloside-primed GAG chains were investigated in a matched pair of human breast fibroblasts and human breast carcinoma cells. An increase of the xylose-aglycon distance from 0.24 to 0.37nm resulted in an increased GAG priming ability in both cell lines. Further increase of the xylose-aglycon distance did not result in any pronounced effects. We speculate that by increasing the xylose-aglycon distance, and thereby the surface area of the xyloside, to a certain level would make it more accessible for enzymes involved in the GAG synthesis. The compositions of the primed GAG chains varied with different xylosides, independent of the xylose-aglycon distance, probably due to various affinities for enzymes and/or different cellular uptake. Furthermore, no correlations between the antiproliferative activities, the xylose-aglycon distances, and the amounts or compositions of the GAG chains were detected suggesting involvement of other factors such as fine structure of the GAG chains, effects on endogenous PG synthesis, or other unknown factors for the antiproliferative activity

Exploration of the active site of β4GalT7 – Synthesis of substrates and inhibitors

β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase 7 (β4GalT7) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of proteoglycans (PGs) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains, which are important macromolecules involved in many biological processes such as cell growth and cell signaling as well as in cancer pathobiology and viral and bacterial infections. Despite its pivotal role, much is still unknown regarding the specific structure of GAGs and how the structure affects its functions. GAG synthesis can be regulated by xylosides acting on β4GalT7 as either substrates or inhibitors. In an effort to find efficient substrates and inhibitors of β4GalT7, which would be valuable tools applicable in GAG research, we set out to investigate the active site of β4GalT7 by synthesizing and examining xylosides and xyloside analogs with modifications in the xylose moiety, the endocyclic and exocyclic positions, as well as the aglycon. The overarching aim with these investigations was to pinpoint the requirements of efficient substrates and efficient inhibitors. The synthesized compounds were evaluated in a β4GalT7 assay in combination with molecular docking simulations and conformational analysis by NMR spectroscopy. We found that efficient substrates are formed when keeping the xylose moiety unmodified, but exchanging the endocyclic and/or exocyclic oxygen atoms for sulfur, as well as connecting the xyloside to an aglycon consisting of a fused aromatic system, preferably separated from the xylose part by a short oligoethylene glycol spacer. These structural features can not directly be transferred to a xyloside analog possessing inhibitory activity to gain efficient inhibitors of β4GalT7

Expanding the scope of methyl xanthate esters - From Barton-McCombie reaction auxiliary to versatile protective group

The methyl xanthate ester is presented as a versatile protective group for alcohols. Hydroxyl groups can easily be transformed into methyl xanthate esters by several methods and are commonly used as an auxiliary in the Barton-McCombie reaction. We show that these methyl xanthate esters can readily and chemoselectively be cleaved under mild conditions by the action of diethylenetriamine using microwave heating. This method is orthogonal to many common hydroxyl protective groups that can be introduced and cleaved in the presence of methyl xanthate ester

Hydroxylated oxanes as xyloside analogs for determination of the minimal binding requirements of β4GalT7

β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase 7 (β4GalT7) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. Natural and synthetic xylosides can be used to both inhibit and prime GAG synthesis by acting as inhibitors or substrates for β4GalT7. In this report, we exploit hydroxylated oxanes as deoxygenated xyloside analogs to clarify the minimum protein-ligand interactions required for galactosylation and/or inhibition. Enantiomerically pure substances were synthesized using a chiral pool approach whereas the corresponding racemates were obtained from simple starting materials. The results of a β4GalT7 assay show that a single hydroxyl group on an oxane ring is insufficient to induce galactosylation or inhibition, which implies that at least two substituents, one of which being 3-OH, needs to be present

Chemistry of xylopyranosides.

Xylose is one of the few monosaccharidic building blocks that are used by mammalian cells. In comparison with other monosaccharides, xylose is rather unusual and, so far, only found in two different mammalian structures, i.e. in the Notch receptor and as the linker between protein and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains in proteoglycans. Interestingly, simple soluble xylopyranosides can not only initiate the biosynthesis of soluble GAG chains but also function as inhibitors of important enzymes in the biosynthesis of proteoglycans. Furthermore, xylose is a major constituent of hemicellulosic xylans and thus one of the most abundant carbohydrates on Earth. Altogether, this has spurred a strong interest in xylose chemistry. The scope of this review is to describe synthesis of xylopyranosyl donors, as well as protective group chemistry, modifications, and conformational analysis of xylose

Disubstituted naphthyl β-D-xylopyranosides : Synthesis, GAG priming, and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) inhibition

Xylosides are a group of compounds that can induce glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain synthesis independently of a proteoglycan core protein. We have previously shown that the xyloside 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl)β-D-xylopyranoside has a tumor-selective growth inhibitory effect both in vitro and in vivo, and that the effect in vitro was correlated to a reduction in histone H3 acetylation. In addition, GAG chains have previously been reported to inhibit histone acetyltransferases (HAT). To investigate if xylosides, or the corresponding xyloside-primed GAG chains, can be used as HAT inhibitors, we have synthesized a series of naphthoxylosides carrying structural motifs similar to the aromatic moieties of the known HAT inhibitors garcinol and curcumin, and studied their biological activities. Here, we show that the disubstituted naphthoxylosides induced GAG chain synthesis, and that the ones with at least one free phenolic group exhibited moderate HAT inhibition in vitro, without affecting histone H3 acetylation in cell culture. The xyloside-primed GAG chains, on the other hand, had no effect on HAT activity, possibly explaining why the effect of the xylosides on histone H3 acetylation was absent in cell culture as the xylosides were recruited for GAG chain synthesis. Further investigations are required to find xylosides that are effective HAT inhibitors or xylosides producing GAG chains with HAT inhibitory effects