High-Affinity N-(2-Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide Copolymers with Tailored N-Acetyllactosamine Presentation Discriminate between Galectins

Biomacromolecules. 2020 Feb 10;21(2):641-652. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01370. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Abstract

N-Acetyllactosamine (LacNAc; Galβ4GlcNAc) is a typical disaccharide ligand of galectins. The most abundant members of these human lectins, galectin-1 (Gal-1) and galectin-3 (Gal-3), participate in a number of pathologies including cancerogenesis and metastatic formation. In this study, we synthesized a series of fifteen N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based glycopolymers with varying LacNAc amounts and presentations and evaluated the impact of their architecture on the binding affinity to Gal-1 and Gal-3. The controlled radical reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer copolymerization technique afforded linear polymer precursors with comparable molecular weight (Mn ≈ 22,000 g mol-1) and narrow dispersity ( ≈ 1.1). The precursors were conjugated with the functionalized LacNAc disaccharide (4-22 mol % content in glycopolymer) prepared by enzymatic synthesis under catalysis by β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans. The structure-affinity relationship study based on the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that the type of LacNAc presentation, individual or clustered on bi- or trivalent linkers, brings a clear discrimination (almost 300-fold) between Gal-1 and Gal-3, reaching avidity to Gal-1 in the nanomolar range. Whereas Gal-1 strongly preferred a dense presentation of individually distributed LacNAc epitopes, Gal-3 preferred a clustered LacNAc presentation. Such a strong galectin preference based just on the structure of a multivalent glycopolymer type is exceptional. The prepared nontoxic, nonimmunogenic, and biocompatible glycopolymers are prospective for therapeutic applications requiring selectivity for one particular galectin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acrylamides / chemistry*
  • Amino Sugars / chemistry*
  • Bacillus / enzymology
  • Blood Proteins / analysis*
  • Blood Proteins / metabolism
  • Catalysis
  • Disaccharides / chemical synthesis
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Epitopes
  • Galectin 1 / analysis*
  • Galectin 1 / metabolism
  • Galectins / analysis*
  • Galectins / metabolism
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Polymerization
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Polymers / metabolism
  • Polymers / pharmacology
  • beta-Galactosidase / metabolism

Substances

  • Acrylamides
  • Amino Sugars
  • Blood Proteins
  • Disaccharides
  • Epitopes
  • Galectin 1
  • Galectins
  • LGALS1 protein, human
  • LGALS3 protein, human
  • Polymers
  • N-acetyllactosamine
  • beta-Galactosidase
  • N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide

Supplementary concepts

  • Bacillus circulans