Hideki Tamai

Efficiently Synthesizing Lacto‐Ganglio‐Series Gangliosides by Using a Glucosyl Ceramide Cassette Approach: The Total Synthesis of Ganglioside X2

The first total synthesis of the hybrid ganglioside X2, which consisted of a highly branched octasaccharide and ceramide moieties, was accomplished by using a glucosyl ceramide cassette approach. With a disaccharyl donor, the heptasaccharide could not be constructed by glycosylation of the C4 hydroxy group of galactose at the reducing end of the pentasaccharide. In contrast, through an alternative approach with two branched glycan units, a GM2-core trisaccharide, and a lacto-ganglio tetrasaccharide, the heptasaccharyl donor could be prepared and subsequently joined with a glucosyl ceramide cassette to afford the protected ganglioside, X2. Finally, global deprotection completed the synthesis, thus affording the pure ganglioside X2.

First Synthesis of a Pentasaccharide Moiety of Ganglioside GAA-7 Containing Unusually Modified Sialic Acids through the Use of N-Troc-sialic Acid Derivative as a Key Unit†

The pentasaccharide part of the potent neuritogenic ganglioside GAA-7 has been synthesized for the first time. The unique branched terminus constituting partially modified sialic acids and N-acetylgalactosamine was successfully established by stereoselective double-sialylation using 8-O-methyl-N-Troc-sialic acid as a donor. The final 4 + 1 coupling reaction provided a high yield of pentasaccharide, which was deprotected to deliver the target molecule.

The Total Synthesis of Starfish Ganglioside GP3 Bearing a Unique Sialyl Glycan Architecture.

The total synthesis of ganglioside GP3, which is found in the starfish Asterina pectinifera, has been accomplished through stereoselective and effective glycosylation reactions. The sialic acid embedded octasaccharide moiety of the target compound was constructed by [4+4] convergent coupling. A tetrasaccharyl donor and acceptor that contained internal sialic acid residues were synthesized with an orthogonally protected N-Troc sialic acid donor as the key common synthetic unit, and they underwent highly stereoselective glycosidation. The resulting sialosides were subsequently transformed into reactive glycosyl acceptors. [4+4] coupling furnished the octasaccharide framework in 91 % yield as a single stereoisomer. Final conjugation of the octasaccharyl donor and glucosyl ceramide acceptor produced the protected target compound in high yield, which underwent global deprotection to successfully deliver ganglioside GP3.

Structure-Activity Relationship Study of the Neuritogenic Potential of the Glycan of Starfish Ganglioside LLG-3 ‡

LLG-3 is a ganglioside isolated from the starfish Linchia laevigata. To clarify the structure-activity relationship of the glycan of LLG-3 toward rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells in the presence of nerve growth factor, a series of mono- to tetrasaccharide glycan derivatives were chemically synthesized and evaluated in vitro. The methyl group at C8 of the terminal sialic acid residue was crucial for neuritogenic activity, and the terminal trisaccharide moiety was the minimum active motif. Furthermore, the trisaccharide also stimulated neuritogenesis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells via mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 was rapidly induced by adding 1 or 10 nM of the trisaccharide. The ratio of phosphorylated ERK to ERK reached a maximum 5 min after stimulation, and then decreased gradually. However, the trisaccharide did not induce significant Akt phosphorylation. These effects were abolished by pretreatment with the MAPK inhibitor U0126, which inhibits enzymes MEK1 and MEK2. In addition, U0126 inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 in response to the trisaccharide dose-dependently. Therefore, we concluded that the trisaccharide promotes neurite extension in SH-SY5Y cells via MAPK/ERK signaling, not Akt signaling.