An efficient method was developed for the synthesis of a GM2 derivative suitable for the conjugation with various biomolecules. This GM2 derivative was covalently linked to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) to form novel therapeutic cancer vaccines. Immunological evaluations of the resultant conjugates in mice revealed that they elicited robust GM2-specific overall and IgG antibody responses. Moreover, the GM2-MPLA conjugate was disclosed to elicit strong immune responses without the use of an adjuvant, proving its self-adjuvant property. The antisera of both conjugates showed strong binding and mediated similarly effective complement-dependent cytotoxicity to GM2-expressing cancer cell line MCF-7. Based on these results, it was concluded that both GM2-MPLA and GM2-KLH are promising candidates as therapeutic cancer vaccines, whereas fully synthetic GM2-MPLA, which has homogeneous and well-defined structure and self-adjuvant property, deserves more attention and studies.

A novel method for spin labelling of sialoglycans on the cell surface is described. C9-Azido sialic acid was linked to glycans on live cells via CSTII-catalysed α2,3-sialylation utilizing azido-sialic acid...

The reactions of several β-, γ-, and δ-azido alcohols with dibenzyl and dimethyl N,N-diisopropylphosphoramidites were examined. Detailed analysis of the intermediates and products formed from the reactions under different conditions provided useful information to gain insights into their mechanisms involving intramolecular Staudinger reaction, as well as the structure-reactivity relationships of both substrates. The reactions of γ- and δ-azido alcohols with dibenzyl N,N-diisopropylphosphoramidite could produce 6- and 7-membered cyclic phosphoramidates, thereby providing a new synthetic method for these biologically important molecules.

No abstract