Human serum alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) is an acute-phase plasma protein involved in the binding and transport of many drugs, especially basic and lipophilic substances. The sialic acid groups that terminate the N-glycan chains of AAG have been reported to change in response to numerous health conditions and may have an impact on the binding of drugs to AAG. In this study, we quantified the binding between native and desialylated AAG and seven drugs from different pharmacotherapeutic groups (carvedilol, diltiazem, dipyridamole, imipramine, lidocaine, propranolol, vinblastine) using microscale thermophoresis (MST). This method was chosen due to its robustness and high sensitivity, allowing precise quantification of molecular interactions based on the thermophoretic movement of fluorescent molecules. Detailed glycan analysis of native and desialylated AAG showed over 98% reduction in sialic acid content for the enzymatically desialylated AAG. The MST results indicate that desialylation generally alters the binding affinity between AAG and drugs, leading to either an increase or decrease in Kd values, probably due to conformational changes of AAG caused by the different sialic acid content. This effect is also reflected in an increased denaturation temperature of desialylated AAG. Our findings indicate that desialylation impacts free drug concentrations differently, depending on the binding affinity of the drug with AAG relative to human serum albumin (HSA). For drugs such as dipyridamole, lidocaine, and carvedilol, which have a higher affinity for AAG, desialylation significantly changes free drug concentrations. In contrast, drugs such as propranolol, imipramine, and vinblastine, which have a strong albumin binding, show only minimal changes. It is noteworthy that the free drug concentration of dipyridamole is particularly sensitive to changes in AAG concentration and glycosylation, with a decrease of up to 15% being observed, underscoring the need for dosage adjustments in personalized medicine.
Keywords: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein; desialylation; equilibrium binding affinity; microscale thermophoresis; plasma protein binding.