Kun Huang

Sialic acids are a family of acidic monosaccharides often found on the termini of cell surface proteins or lipid glycoconjugates of higher animals. Herein we describe the enzymatic synthesis of the two isotopically labeled sialic acid derivatives d₃-X-Gal-α-2,3-Neu5Ac and d₃-X-Gal-α-2,3-Neu5Gc. Using deuterium oxide as the reaction solvent, deuterium atoms could be successfully introduced during the enzymatic epimerization and aldol addition reactions when the sialosides were generated. NMR and mass spectrometric analyses confirmed that the resulting sialosides were indeed tri-deuterated. These compounds may be of interest as internal standards in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric assays for biochemical or clinical studies of sialic acids. This was further exemplified by the use of this tri-deuterated sialosides as internal standards for the quantification of sialic acids in meat and egg samples.

Uridine diphosphate galactose (UDP-galactose) is a valuable building block in the enzymatic synthesis of galactose-containing glycoconjugates. UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (UGE) is an enzyme which catalyzes the reversible conversion of abundantly available UDP-glucose to UDP-galactose. Herein, we described the cloning, expression, purification, and biochemical characterization of an unstudied UGE from the oyster Magallana gigas (MgUGE). Activity tests of recombinantly expressed MgUGE, using HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), mass spectrometry, and photometric assays, showed an optimal temperature of 16 °C, and reasonable thermal stability up to 37 °C. No metal ions were required for enzymatic activity. The simple nickel-affinity-purification procedure makes MgUGE a valuable biocatalyst for the synthesis of UDP-galactose from UDP-glucose. The biosynthetic potential of MgUGE was further exemplified in a coupled enzymatic reaction with an oyster-derived β-1,4-galactosyltransferase (MgGalT7), allowing the galactosylation of the model substrate para-nitrophenol xylose (pNP-xylose) using UDP-glucose as the starting material.

Glycosyl phosphates are important intermediates in many metabolic pathways and are substrates for diverse carbohydrate‐active enzymes. Thus, there is a need to develop libraries of structurally similar analogues that can be used as selective chemical probes in glycomics. Here, we explore chemoenzymatic cascades for the fast generation of glycosyl phosphate libraries without protecting‐group strategies. The key enzyme is a new bacterial galactokinase (LgGalK) cloned from Leminorella grimontii, which was produced in Escherichia coli and shown to catalyse 1‐phosphorylation of galactose. LgGalK displayed a broad substrate tolerance, being able to catalyse the 1‐phosphorylation of a number of galactose analogues, including 3‐deoxy‐3‐fluorogalactose and 4‐deoxy‐4‐fluorogalactose, which were first reported to be substrates for wild‐type galactokinase. LgGalK and galactose oxidase variant M₁ were combined in a one‐pot, two‐step system to synthesise 6‐oxogalactose‐1‐phosphate and 6‐oxo‐2‐fluorogalactose‐1‐phosphate, which were subsequently used to produce a panel of 30 substituted 6‐aminogalactose‐1‐phosphate derivatives by chemical reductive amination in a one‐pot, three‐step chemoenzymatic process.

In this manuscript we address an important gap in our current carbohydrate active enzyme toolbox, by developing a highly a2,6-selective (over a2,3-selective) de facto sialidase that is necessary both for glycan analysis and glycoconjugate remodeling. Both glycosidic linkages are commonly found in animal biology and each has been shown to have distinct biological function. Our approach is novel in that it harnesses the high selectivity of known glycosyltransferases ‘in reverse’ for effective hydrolysis, converting transferases to hydrolases by reaction engineering. More specifically, we demonstrate that the a2,6-specific pseudosialidase activity of Photobacterium sp. JT-ISH-224 a2,6-sialyltransferase can be used effectively for highly a2,6 selective hydrolysis on a broad range of analytes: small synthetic probes, isolated complex glycans and complex mixtures of glycoproteins.

In this manuscript we address an important gap in our current carbohydrate active enzyme toolbox, by developing a highly a2,6-selective (over a2,3-selective) de facto sialidase that is necessary both for glycan analysis and glycoconjugate remodeling. Both glycosidic linkages are commonly found in animal biology and each has been shown to have distinct biological function. Our approach is novel in that it harnesses the high selectivity of known glycosyltransferases ‘in reverse’ for effective hydrolysis, converting transferases to hydrolases by reaction engineering. More specifically, we demonstrate that the a2,6-specific pseudosialidase activity of Photobacterium sp. JT-ISH-224 a2,6-sialyltransferase can be used effectively for highly a2,6 selective hydrolysis on a broad range of analytes: small synthetic probes, isolated complex glycans and complex mixtures of glycoproteins.