Decoration of Chondroitin Polysaccharide with Threonine: Synthesis, Conformational Study, and Ice-Recrystallization Inhibition Activity

Biomacromolecules. 2017 Aug 14;18(8):2267-2276. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b00326. Epub 2017 Jul 11.

Abstract

Several threonine (Thr)- and alanine (Ala)-rich antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs) and polysaccharides act in nature as ice recrystallization inhibitors. Among them, the Thr-decorated capsular polysaccharide (CPS) from the cold-adapted Colwellia psychrerythraea 34H bacterium was recently investigated for its cryoprotectant activity. A semisynthetic mimic thereof was here prepared from microbial sourced chondroitin through a four-step strategy, involving a partial protection of the chondroitin polysaccharide as a key step for gaining an unprecedented quantitative amidation of its glucuronic acid units. In-depth NMR and computational analysis suggested a fairly linear conformation for the semisynthetic polysaccharide, for which the antifreeze activity by a quantitative ice recrystallization inhibition assay was measured. We compared the structure-activity relationships for the Thr-derivatized chondroitin and the natural Thr-decorated CPS from C. psychrerythraea.

MeSH terms

  • Alteromonadaceae / chemistry*
  • Chondroitin* / chemical synthesis
  • Chondroitin* / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial* / chemical synthesis
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial* / chemistry
  • Threonine / chemistry*

Substances

  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial
  • Threonine
  • Chondroitin