Glycoamino Acid Analogues of the Thomsen–Friedenreich Tumor-Associated Carbohydrate Antigen: Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Antiproliferative Factor Glycopeptides

Glycoamino acid analogues of the Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen disaccharide, where the 4' and 4″ hydroxyl groups were substituted with fluorine or hydrogen, were synthesized and incorporated into the asialylated antiproliferative factor (as-APF), a biologically active form of APF, a glycopeptide found in the urine of patients with interstitial cystitis. Various strategies were employed to incorporate the fluorine atom at the 4-positions of either the galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine unit of the disaccharide antigen, based on stereochemistry and reactivity. These glycopeptides were evaluated in antiproliferative assays on both primary normal bladder epithelial cells and T24 bladder carcinoma cells. Unlike many previously published substitutions to APF, mono-4'-fluorination of the GalNAc residue did not affect the activity, whereas fluoro-derivatives of the galactose 4″-position or both 4' and 4″ hydroxyls showed a reduced potency relative to the monosubstituted GalNAc derivative. A fourth compound where the 4″ position of galactose was deoxygenated showed a lower potency than the parent and monosubstituted compounds. These results suggest that specific substitutions in the sugar moieties in the APF can be tolerated, and the glycomimetic design of APF analogues can include fluorine in the GalNAc sugar of the disaccharide.