1. [Synthesis of the glycopeptide O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 to 3)-O-(2-acetamido-2-desoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl)-(1 to 3)-L-serine and -L-threonine]
H Paulsen, J P Hölck Carbohydr Res. 1982 Nov 1;109:89-107. doi: 10.1016/0008-6215(82)84033-0.
In the presence of silver carbonate-silver perchlorate and dichloromethane-toluene as solvent, 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-azido-2-deoxy-beta-D-galactopyranosyl chloride, and derivatives of L-serine and -L-serine and -L-threonine, gave, with high stereoselectivity, the benzyl esters of N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-3-O-(3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-azido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl)-L-serine (7) and -L-threonine (22), which were hydrogenolyzed and deblocked to give 3-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl)-L-serine and -L-threonine, respectively, corresponding to the hapten of the Tn-antigen. Reduction of the azido group of 7, followed by selective O-deacetylation and benzylidenation, gave a derivative that was glycosylated with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl bromide to yield a disaccharide. A similar sequence of reactions, starting from 22, gave the L-threonine analog. Removal of the protecting groups from both compounds afforded O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 to 3)-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl)-L-serine and -L-serine and -L-threonine, respectively, the hapten of the T-antigen.
2. Enantioselective inhibition of d-serine transport by (S)-ketamine
Nagendra S Singh, Michel Bernier, Simonetta Camandola, Mohammed A Khadeer, Ruin Moaddel, Mark P Mattson, Irving W Wainer Br J Pharmacol. 2015 Sep;172(18):4546-4559. doi: 10.1111/bph.13239. Epub 2015 Jul 31.
Background and purpose: Patients with major depressive disorder receiving racemic ketamine, (R,S)-ketamine, experience transient increases in Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale scores and a coincident drop in plasma d-serine levels. The results suggest that (R,S)-ketamine produces an immediate, concentration-dependent pharmacological effect on d-serine plasma concentrations. One potential source of this effect is (R,S)-ketamine-induced inhibition of the transporter ASCT2, which regulates intracellular d-serine concentrations. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by examining the effect of (S)- and (R)-ketamine on ASCT2-mediated transport of d-serine in PC-12 and 1321N1 cells and primary neuronal cells in culture. Experimental approach: Intracellular and extracellular d-serine levels were determined using capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry respectively. Expression of ASCT2, Asc-1 and serine racemase was determined utilizing Western blotting. Key results: (S)-Ketamine produced a concentration-dependent increase in intracellular d-serine and reduced extracellular d-serine accumulation. In contrast, (R)-ketamine decreased both intracellular and extracellular d-serine levels. The ASCT2 inhibitor, benzyl-d-serine (BDS), and ASCT2 gene knockdown mimicked the action of (S)-ketamine on d-serine in PC-12 cells, while the Asc-1 agonist d-isoleucine reduced intracellular d-serine and increased extracellular d-serine accumulation. This response to d-isoleucine was not affected by BDS or (S)-ketamine. Primary cultures of rat neuronal cells expressed ASCT2 and were responsive to (S)-ketamine and BDS. (S)- and (R)-ketamine increased the expression of monomeric serine racemase in all the cells studied, with (S)-ketamine having the greatest effect. Conclusions and implications: (S)-Ketamine decreased cellular export of d-serine via selective inhibition of ASCT2, and this could represent a possible source of dissociative effects observed with (R,S)-ketamine.
3. Practical synthesis of the 2-acetamido-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucosides of Fmoc-serine and Fmoc-threonine and their benzyl esters
Ivone Carvalho, Shona L Scheuerl, K P Ravindranathan Kartha, Robert A Field Carbohydr Res. 2003 May 1;338(10):1039-43. doi: 10.1016/s0008-6215(03)00071-5.
Mercuric bromide-promoted glycosylation of Fmoc-Ser-OBn and Fmoc-Thr-OBn with 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl chloride in refluxing 1,2-dichloroethane gave the corresponding beta-glycosides in good yields (64 and 62%, respectively). Direct coupling of the commercially available Fmoc-Ser-OH and Fmoc-Thr-OH carboxylic acids under similar conditions gave the corresponding beta-glycosides, possessing free carboxyl groups, in moderate yields (50 and 40%, respectively).
