Disialyllacto-N-neohexaose II in Glycobiology Research (CAS 137608-62-9)

Disialyllacto-N-hexaose II is a highly sophisticated and biologically active core sugar chain structure that exists in mammalian glycoconjugates. As an important representative of the sialylated polylactosamine series of sugar chains, it is not only widely distributed in a variety of glycoproteins and glycolipids, but also participates in key life processes such as cell recognition, signal transduction and immune regulation. Moreover, because of its outstanding value in the fields of disease marker identification, drug target development and high-end in vitro diagnostics, it has become a strategic raw material molecule at the intersection of glycoscience and biomedicine.

Chemical Information

Chemical name: Disialolactone-N-hexose II

Common name: DS-LNnH II, Disialyllacto-N-neohexaose II

Chemical formula: C₆₂H₁₀₂N₄O₄₇

Molecular weight: 1655.5 g/mol

CAS number: 137608-6

2-9

Structural characteristics and biological significance

Disialolactone-N-hexose II belongs to the extended structure of the core skeleton of the lactose series. Its molecular structure has the following key features:

Precise polysaccharide chain topology: The molecule uses lactose (Galβ1-4Glc) as the core, extends through N-acetyl lactose (Galβ1-4GlcNAc) repeating units to form a hexasaccharide skeleton, and is terminated and modified by α2,3-linked sialic acid (Neu5Ac) at position 3 of two specific galactose (Gal) residues. This highly ordered sugar chain topology is the structural basis for its specific biorecognition function.

Dual regulation of sialic acid: The presence of two sialic acid residues not only gives the entire molecule a strong negative charge, regulating its electrostatic interaction with receptors (such as selectins, Siglec family proteins), but also precisely controls the affinity and specificity of sugar chains and binding proteins through the unique spatial conformation of sialic acid. It is a key information site for the "sugar code" on the cell surface.

Important functional determinants: This structure is a representation of a variety of important biological antigens (such as CDw60, some blood group-related antigens) and development-dependent antigens, and plays the role of "molecular barcode" in cell differentiation, immune response and pathogen recognition.

Main applications and core advantages

1. Key antigens and standards for high-end in vitro diagnostic reagents

Tumor marker detection: Disialolactone-N-hexose II is an antigenic epitope that is overexpressed or abnormally glycosylated in a variety of cancers (such as melanoma, glioma, and certain epithelial cancers). Using it as a detection target or standard reference, highly specific and sensitive serological diagnostic kits, histochemical staining reagents or flow cytometry panels can be developed to facilitate early screening and accurate classification of cancer.

Diagnosis of autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases: This structure is also a host carbohydrate antigen simulated by certain pathogens (such as influenza virus, Helicobacter pylori), or an abnormal recognition target in autoimmune diseases. Testing products developed with it as its core raw material can be used for quantitative analysis of relevant infection markers or autoantibodies to improve diagnostic accuracy.

2. Valuable lead compounds for the development of carbohydrate drugs and vaccines

Candidate molecules for anti-adhesion therapy: Many pathogenic infections and cancer metastasis processes rely on the interaction between sialylated sugar chains on the cell surface and corresponding receptors (such as selectins). Disialolactone-N-hexose II can serve as a competitive inhibitor or mimetic of such interactions, providing a structural template for the development of anti-metastatic, anti-inflammatory or anti-infective drugs.

Precise antigens for synthetic vaccines: For certain bacteria or tumors with specific sugar chains as surface antigens, this structure can be coupled to a carrier protein through chemical or enzymatic methods to construct a well-defined, quality-controllable synthetic sugar vaccine, which can induce the production of highly specific protective antibodies and overcome the problems of weak immunogenicity and large batch differences of traditional polysaccharide vaccines.

Targeting ligands for cell therapy and drug delivery: Utilizing the specific binding ability of this sugar chain to specific cell surface lectins (such as Siglec, Galectin), it can be modified on the surface of liposomes, nanoparticles or treatment cells to achieve directional delivery of drugs or cell therapy products, improve efficacy and reduce systemic toxic and side effects.

3. Core tools for basic glycobiology and interaction research

Receptor-ligand interaction research: As a pure sugar chain with a well-defined structure, it is an ideal probe for studying molecular mechanisms such as sialic acid-dependent cell recognition and signal transduction. It can be used for biophysical binding analysis such as SPR, ITC, and BLI, or for preparing affinity chromatography media to purify specific lectins.

Specificity mapping of sugar-binding proteins: In functional glycomics research, this molecule is an indispensable substrate molecule for perfecting the Fine Specificity Profile of sugar-binding proteins such as lectins, antibodies, or viral hemagglutinins.

Glycosylation engineering and enzymology research substrate: It is a high-value natural substrate for glycosyltransferase (such as sialyltransferase ST3Gal, ST6Gal family) or glycoside hydrolase (such as neuraminidase) activity determination, inhibitor screening and enzymatic property research.

Conclusion

From a sophisticated cell communication language to a reliable marker for disease diagnosis, from the rational design of innovative drugs to a targeted key to cutting-edge therapies, disialolactone-N-hexose II has gone far beyond the chemical definition of a complex sugar chain. It represents an in-depth interpretation of the sugar code in life processes and is a bridge molecule between basic discovery and clinical translation.

The above information is provided by the editor of KASONS and is for scientific research only.