title: Supramolecular assemblies of a conjugate of nucleobase, amino acids, and saccharide act as agonists for proliferation of embryonic stem cells and development of zygotes.
abstract: The synthetic challenges in glycobiology and glycochemistry hamper the development of glycobiomaterials for biomedicine. Here we report the use of molecular self-assembly to sidestep the laborious synthesis of complex glycans for promoting the proliferation of murine embryonic stem (mES) cells. Our study shows that the supramolecular assemblies of a small molecule conjugate of nucleobase, amino acids, and saccharide, as a de novo glycoconjugate, promote the proliferation of mES cells and the development of zygotes into blastocysts of mouse. Molecular engineering confirms that each motif (i.e., adenine, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) domain, and glucosamine) is indispensable for the observed activity of the conjugate. As the first example of using assemblies of the molecular conjugates of multiple fundamental biological building blocks to control cell behaviors, this work illustrates an unprecedented approach to use supramolecular assemblies as multifunctional mimics of glycoconjugates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University , 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, United States.
authors.forename: Xuewen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Olgun
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Guvench
authors.forename: Frank O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Sangiorgi
authors.forename: Xinming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D005944:Glucosamine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D015053:Zygote / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009842:Oligopeptides; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid; D000225:Adenine; D005944:Glucosamine