Fluorinated Glycosyl Amino Acids for Mucin‐Like Glycopeptide Antigen Analogues

Abstract

The aberrant glycosylation profiles of mucin glycoproteins on epithelial tumour cells represent attractive target structures for the development of immunotherapy against cancer. Mucin-type glycopeptides have been successfully investigated as molecularly defined vaccine prototypes for triggering humoral immunity but are susceptible to rapid in vivo degradation. As a potential means to enhance the bioavailabilities of the antigenic structures, hydrolysis-resistant carbohydrate analogues with fluorine substituents at positions C6, C2' and C6' were synthesised and incorporated into the tandem repeat sequence of the mucin MUC1. The resulting pseudo-glycopeptides can be used to elucidate the effects of chemically modified antibody determinants on metabolic and immunological properties.