One-pot synthesis of N-acetyl- and N-glycolylneuraminic acid capped trisaccharides and evaluation of their influenza A(H1 N1) inhibition

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Feb 24;53(9):2413-6. doi: 10.1002/anie.201309646. Epub 2014 Jan 31.

Abstract

Human lung epithelial cells natively offer terminal N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) α(2→6)-linked to galactose (Gal) as binding sites for influenza virus hemagglutinin. N-Glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) in place of Neu5Ac is known to affect hemagglutinin binding in other species. Not normally generated by humans, Neu5Gc may find its way to human cells from dietary sources. To compare their influence in influenza virus infection, six trisaccharides with Neu5Ac or Neu5Gc α(2→6) linked to Gal and with different reducing end sugar units were prepared using one-pot assembly and divergent transformation. The sugar assembly made use of an N-phthaloyl-protected sialyl imidate for chemoselective activation and α-stereoselective coupling with a thiogalactoside. Assessment of cytopathic effect showed that the Neu5Gc-capped trisaccharides inhibited the viral infection better than their Neu5Ac counterparts.

Keywords: carbohydrates; glycosylation; stereoselectivity; synthetic methods; viruses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylation
  • Antiviral Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antiviral Agents / chemistry*
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / drug effects*
  • Influenza, Human / drug therapy
  • Neuraminic Acids / chemical synthesis
  • Neuraminic Acids / chemistry*
  • Neuraminic Acids / pharmacology*
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Trisaccharides / chemical synthesis
  • Trisaccharides / chemistry*
  • Trisaccharides / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Neuraminic Acids
  • Trisaccharides
  • N-glycolylneuraminic acid