Synthesis of CH2-linked α-galactosylceramide and its glucose analogues through glycosyl radical-mediated direct C-glycosylation

Direct C-glycosylation of a conformationally constrained and stable C1-sp3 hybridized carbohydrate donor with a carefully designed sphingosine unit afforded the CH2-linked analogue of antitumor-active KRN7000 and its glucose congener.

Review of Mutarotase in ‘Metabolic Subculture’ and Analytical Biochemistry: Prelude to 19F NMR Studies of its Substrate Specificity and Mechanism

This is the first paper in a sequential pair devoted to the enzyme mutarotase (aldose 1-epimerase; EC 5.1.3.3). Here, the broader context of the physiological role of mutarotase, among those enzymes considered to be part of ‘metabolic structure’, is reviewed. We also summarise the current knowledge about the molecular mechanism and substrate specificity of the enzyme, which is considered in the context of the binding of fluorinated glucose analogues to the enzyme’s active site. This was done as a prelude to our experimental studies of the anomerisation of fluorinated sugars by mutarotase that are described in the following paper.

Anomerisation of Fluorinated Sugars by Mutarotase Studied Using 19F NMR Two-Dimensional Exchange Spectroscopy

Five 19F-substituted glucose analogues were used to probe the activity and mechanism of the enzyme mutarotase by using magnetisation-exchange NMR spectroscopy. The sugars (2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose, FDG2; 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-d-glucose, FDG3; 4-fluoro-4-deoxy-d-glucose, FDG4; 2,3-difluoro-2,3-dideoxy-d-glucose, FDG23; and 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-2,3-dideoxy-d-glucose (2,3-dideoxy-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-d-erythro-hexopyranose), FDG2233) showed separate 19F NMR spectroscopic resonances from their respective α- and β-anomers, thus allowing two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy measurements of the anomeric interconversion at equilibrium, on the time scale of a few seconds. Mutarotase catalysed the rapid exchange between the anomers of FDG4, but not the other four sugars. This finding, combined with previous work identifying the mechanism of the anomerisation by mutarotase, suggests that the rotation around the C1–C2 bond of the pyranose ring is the rate-limiting reaction step. In addition to d-glucose itself, it was shown that all other fluorinated sugars inhibited the FDG4 anomerisation, with the tetrafluorinated FDG2233 being the most potent inhibitor. Inhibition of mutarotase by F-sugars paves the way for the development of novel fluorinated compounds that are able to affect the activity of this enzyme invitro and invivo.

A Fast and Sensitive Method Combining Reversed-Phase Chromatography with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Quantify 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose and Its Phosphorylated Metabolite for Determining Glucose Uptake

Quantative measurements of the glucose analogue, 2-deoxyglucose (2DG), and its phosphorylated metabolite (2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate (2DG-6-P)) are critical for the measurement of glucose uptake. While the field has long identified the need for sensitive and reliable assays that deploy non-radiolabled glucose analogues to assess glucose uptake, no analytical MS-based methods exist to detect trace amounts in complex biological samples. In the present work, we show that 2DG is poorly suited for MS-based methods due to interfering metabolites. We therefore developed and validated an alternative C18-based LC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS method using 2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (2FDG) to quantify both 2FDG and 2FDG-6-P by measuring the sodium adduct of 2FDG in the positive mode and deprotonation of 2FDG-6-P in the negative mode. The low detection limit of this method can reach 81.4 and 48.8 fmol for both 2FDG and 2FDG-6-P, respectively. The newly developed method was fully validated via calibration curves in the presence and absence of biological matrix. The present work is the first successful LC-MS method that can quantify trace amounts of a nonradiolabeled glucose analogue and its phosphorylated metabolite and is a promising analytical method to determine glucose uptake in biological samples.

A Fast and Sensitive Method Combining Reversed-Phase Chromatography with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Quantify 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose and Its Phosphorylated Metabolite for Determining Glucose Uptake

Quantative measurements of the glucose analogue, 2-deoxyglucose (2DG), and its phosphorylated metabolite (2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate (2DG-6-P)) are critical for the measurement of glucose uptake. While the field has long identified the need for sensitive and reliable assays that deploy non-radiolabled glucose analogues to assess glucose uptake, no analytical MS-based methods exist to detect trace amounts in complex biological samples. In the present work, we show that 2DG is poorly suited for MS-based methods due to interfering metabolites. We therefore developed and validated an alternative C18-based LC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS method using 2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (2FDG) to quantify both 2FDG and 2FDG-6-P by measuring the sodium adduct of 2FDG in the positive mode and deprotonation of 2FDG-6-P in the negative mode. The low detection limit of this method can reach 81.4 and 48.8 fmol for both 2FDG and 2FDG-6-P, respectively. The newly developed method was fully validated via calibration curves in the presence and absence of biological matrix. The present work is the first successful LC-MS method that can quantify trace amounts of a nonradiolabeled glucose analogue and its phosphorylated metabolite and is a promising analytical method to determine glucose uptake in biological samples.

Transmembrane exchange of fluorosugars: characterization of red cell GLUT1 kinetics using 19F NMR

ABSTRACTWe developed a novel approach for quantifying the equilibrium-exchange kinetics of carrier-mediated transmembrane transport of fluorinated substrates. Our method is based on an adapted kinetic theory describing the concentration dependence of the transmembrane-exchange rates of two simultaneously transported species. Using the new approach, we quantified the kinetics of membrane transport of both anomers of three monofluorinated glucose analogues in human erythrocytes (red blood cells: RBCs) using 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) exchange spectroscopy (EXSY). An inosine-based glucose-free medium was shown to promote survival and stable metabolism of RBCs over the duration of the experiments (a few hours). Earlier NMR studies only yielded the apparent rate constants and transmembrane fluxes of the anomeric species, whereas we were able to categorize the two anomers in terms of the catalytic activity (specificity constants) of the glucose transport protein GLUT1 towards them. Differences in the membrane permeability of the three glucose analogues were qualitatively interpreted in terms of local perturbations in the bonding of substrates to amino-acid residues in the active site of GLUT1. The methodology of this work will be applicable to studies of other carrier-mediated membrane transport processes, especially those with competition between simultaneously transported species. The GLUT1-specific results will apply to the design of probes of glucose transport, or inhibitors of glucose metabolism in cells including those exhibiting the Warburg effect.ABBREVIATIONSEXSYexchange spectroscopyFDGfluoro-deoxy-glucoseFDG-nn-fluoro-n- deoxy-D-glucose (n = 2, 3, 4)FIDfree induction decayGlcD-glucoseNMRnuclear magnetic resonanceRBCred blood cell

NIR fluorescent DCPO glucose analogues and their application in cancer cell imaging

N3-DCPO and its glucose analogues were synthesized, and the linker's length impact on cellular uptake was studied.