Susana Maza

Synthesis of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate-like oligosaccharides and evaluation of their protein affinity by fluorescence polarization.

Here, we present a novel approach for the chemical synthesis of chondroitin and dermatan sulfate oligosaccharides. A key point of this strategy is the preparation and use of an N-trifluoroacetyl galactosamine building block containing a 4,6-O-di-tert-butylsilylene group. Glycosylation reactions proceeded in good yields (74-91%) with our protecting group distribution. Using this approach, we have synthesized, for the first time, a chondroitin/dermatan sulfate-like tetrasaccharide that contains both types of uronic acids, D-glucuronic and L-iduronic acid. Moreover, we have employed a fluorescence polarization competition assay to evaluate the interactions between the synthesized oligosaccharides and FGF-2 (basic fibroblast growth factor). Our results show that this method, using standard instrumentation and minimal sample consumption, is a powerful tool for the rapid analysis of the glycosaminoglycan affinity for proteins in solution.

Synthesis and antioxidant activity of O-alkyl selenocarbamates, selenoureas and selenohydantoins.

The preparation of three different families of lipophilic organoselenium compounds (aryl- and sugar-derived selenoureas, O-alkyl selenocarbamates and selenohydantoins) has been carried out in order to evaluate their in vitro antioxidant profile, analyzing the influence of the selenium-containing functional group, and the substituents on the activity. Title compounds have therefore been studied for the first time as free radical, hydrogen peroxide, alkyl peroxides and nitric oxide scavengers using colorimetric methods; furthermore, their glutathione peroxidase-like activity has also been analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Free radical scavenging activity has been evaluated using the DPPH method; the strongest free radical scavengers were found to be both, aryl- and sugar-derived selenoureas, with EC₅₀ values ranging 19-46 μM. Concerning anti-H₂O₂ activity, measured by the horseradish peroxidase-mediated oxidation of phenol red, the best results were achieved for aryl selenohydantoins, showing a 61-76% inhibition at 0.5 mM concentration. Organoselenium compounds were also found to be capable of inhibiting the chain reaction involving lipid peroxidation (ferric thiocyanate method); thus, when tested at 0.74 mM, sugar selenocarbamates exhibited 49-71% inhibition of alkyl peroxides-mediated degradation of linoleic acid. Nitric oxide scavenging was studied by transforming sodium nitroprusside into nitrite ion, which in turn was transformed into an easily UV-detectable azocompound; aryl selenocarbamates exhibited 64-80% inhibition at 0.71 mM concentration. It has also been demonstrated that selenoxo compounds can behave as excellent glutathione peroxidase mimics; thus a 0.05 molar equiv. of the title compounds catalyzed efficiently the H₂O₂-mediated oxidation of dithiothreitol into the corresponding cyclic disulfide, mimicking removal of H₂O₂ exerted by glutathione peroxidase; t(1/2) values were found to be quite low for aryl- and sugar-derived selenoureas (2.0-12.7 min).

Chondroitin Sulfate Tetrasaccharides: Synthesis, Three-Dimensional Structure and Interaction with Midkine.

The biological activity of midkine, a cytokine implicated in neuro- and tumourigenesis, is regulated by its binding to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), such as heparin and chondroitin sulfate (CS). To better understand the molecular recognition of GAG sequences by this growth factor, the interactions between synthetic chondroitin sulfate-like tetrasaccharides and midkine were studied by using different techniques. Firstly, a synthetic approach for the preparation of CS-like oligosaccharides in the sequence GalNAc-GlcA was developed. A fluorescence polarisation competition assay was then employed to analyse the relative binding affinities of the synthetic compounds and revealed that midkine interacted with CS-like tetrasaccharides in the micromolar range. The 3D structure of these tetramers was studied in detail by a combination of NMR spectroscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. Saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy experiments indicate that the CS tetrasaccharides bind to midkine in an extended conformation, with similar saturation effects along the entire sugar chain. These results are compatible with docking studies that suggest an interaction of the tetrasaccharide with midkine in a folded structure. Overall, this study provides valuable information on the interaction between midkine and well-defined, chemically synthesised CS oligosaccharides and these data can be useful for the design of more active compounds that modulate the biological function of this protein.

Fluorous-tag assisted synthesis of a glycosaminoglycan mimetic tetrasaccharide as a high-affinity FGF-2 and midkine ligand

Here, we present the preparation of a sulfated, fully protected tetrasaccharide derivative following the glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-related sequence GlcNAc-β(1 → 4)-Glc-β(1 → 3). The tetramer was efficiently assembled via an iterative glycosylation strategy using monosaccharide building blocks. A fluorous tag was attached at position 6 of the reducing end unit enabling the purification of reaction intermediates by simple fluorous solid phase extraction. Fluorescence polarization competition experiments revealed that the synthesized tetrasaccharide strongly interacts with two heparin-binding growth factors, midkine and FGF-2 (IC50 of 270 nM and 2.4 µM, respectively). Our data indicate that this type of oligosaccharide derivatives, displaying sulfates, hydrophobic protecting groups and a fluorinated tail can be considered as interesting GAG mimetics for the regulation of relevant carbohydrate-protein interactions.