Abstract:

Mucins are highly O-glycosylated glycoproteins that are rich in serine (Ser) and threonine (Thr) repeating units, whose external oligosaccharides are linked to the protein via sugar units of α-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), in T. cruzi, or α-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), in mammals. In T. cruzi, these structures help the parasite to interact with the infected cell, while in vertebrates the functions of mucins range from being protective barriers to providing lubrication for epithelial cells. In tumor-related mucins, however, altered glycosylation is a common feature, being verified the presence of mono- and disaccharide structures known as TN and TF antigens, respectively. Therefore, this work presents the synthesis and biological assays of the glycopeptides NHAc[βGal]-(Thr)2-[αGalNAc]-(Thr)2-[αGlcNAc] (Thr)2Gly-OVA 1 and NHAc[βGal-αGalNAc]-(Thr)3- [αLacNAc]-(Thr)3-Gly-OVA 2 related to T. cruzi and tumor mucins, which can be useful for development of vaccines against infectious and tumoral processes.