Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance

Functional glycomimetics is suited to study the parameters of carbohydrate recognition that forms the basis of glycobiology. It is particularly attractive when a glycoligand allows for the investigation of two different states, such as varying distance between multiple glycoligands. Here, a xylopyra...

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Main Authors: Sven Ole Jaeschke, Ingo vom Sondern, Thisbe K. Lindhorst
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/15/3074
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author Sven Ole Jaeschke
Ingo vom Sondern
Thisbe K. Lindhorst
author_facet Sven Ole Jaeschke
Ingo vom Sondern
Thisbe K. Lindhorst
author_sort Sven Ole Jaeschke
collection DOAJ
description Functional glycomimetics is suited to study the parameters of carbohydrate recognition that forms the basis of glycobiology. It is particularly attractive when a glycoligand allows for the investigation of two different states, such as varying distance between multiple glycoligands. Here, a xylopyranoside was employed as a scaffold for the presentation of two mannoside units which are ligands of the bacterial lectin FimH. The chair conformation of the central xyloside can be switched between a <sup>4</sup><i>C</i><sub>1</sub> and a <sup>1</sup><i>C</i><sub>4</sub> conformation whereby the two conjugated mannoside ligands are flipped from a di-equatorial into a di-axial position. Concomitantly, the distance between the two glycoligands changes and, as a consequence, so does the biological activity of the respective bivalent glycocluster, as shown in adhesion–inhibition assays with live bacteria. Molecular modeling was employed to correlate the inter-ligand distance with the structure of the formed glycocluster–FimH complex. Our study suggests that conformational switches can be employed and further advanced as smart molecular tools to study structural boundary conditions of carbohydrate recognition in a bottom-up approach.
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spelling doaj-art-21fe38f94c8d4e0a8a43ddbc993844052025-08-20T03:36:31ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-07-013015307410.3390/molecules30153074Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand DistanceSven Ole Jaeschke0Ingo vom Sondern1Thisbe K. Lindhorst2Otto Diels Institute of Organic Chemistry, Christiana Albertina University of Kiel, 24098 Kiel, GermanyOtto Diels Institute of Organic Chemistry, Christiana Albertina University of Kiel, 24098 Kiel, GermanyOtto Diels Institute of Organic Chemistry, Christiana Albertina University of Kiel, 24098 Kiel, GermanyFunctional glycomimetics is suited to study the parameters of carbohydrate recognition that forms the basis of glycobiology. It is particularly attractive when a glycoligand allows for the investigation of two different states, such as varying distance between multiple glycoligands. Here, a xylopyranoside was employed as a scaffold for the presentation of two mannoside units which are ligands of the bacterial lectin FimH. The chair conformation of the central xyloside can be switched between a <sup>4</sup><i>C</i><sub>1</sub> and a <sup>1</sup><i>C</i><sub>4</sub> conformation whereby the two conjugated mannoside ligands are flipped from a di-equatorial into a di-axial position. Concomitantly, the distance between the two glycoligands changes and, as a consequence, so does the biological activity of the respective bivalent glycocluster, as shown in adhesion–inhibition assays with live bacteria. Molecular modeling was employed to correlate the inter-ligand distance with the structure of the formed glycocluster–FimH complex. Our study suggests that conformational switches can be employed and further advanced as smart molecular tools to study structural boundary conditions of carbohydrate recognition in a bottom-up approach.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/15/3074carbohydrate chemistrycarbohydrate recognitionconformational switchbacterial adhesionFimHlectin inhibitors
spellingShingle Sven Ole Jaeschke
Ingo vom Sondern
Thisbe K. Lindhorst
Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
Molecules
carbohydrate chemistry
carbohydrate recognition
conformational switch
bacterial adhesion
FimH
lectin inhibitors
title Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
title_full Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
title_fullStr Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
title_full_unstemmed Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
title_short Bivalent Inhibitors of Mannose-Specific Bacterial Adhesion: A Xylose-Based Conformational Switch to Control Glycoligand Distance
title_sort bivalent inhibitors of mannose specific bacterial adhesion a xylose based conformational switch to control glycoligand distance
topic carbohydrate chemistry
carbohydrate recognition
conformational switch
bacterial adhesion
FimH
lectin inhibitors
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/15/3074
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