Cell Chemical Biology has accepted and published research from Prescient’s Syed Meheboob Ahmed:
Efficient inhibition of O-glycan biosynthesis using the hexosamine analog Ac5GalNTGc
This research revealed that there is a critical need to develop small-molecule inhibitors of mucin-type O-linked glycosylation. The best-known reagent currently is benzyl-GalNAc, but it is effective only at millimolar concentrations. This article demonstrates that Ac5GalNTGc, a peracetylated C-2 sulfhydryl-substituted GalNAc, fulfills this unmet need. When added to cultured leukocytes, breast cells, and prostate cells, Ac5GalNTGc increased cell-surface Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA) binding by ∼10-fold, indicating truncation of O-glycan biosynthesis.