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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Structure-Activity Studies Of Glycosphingolipids As Antigens Of Natural Killer T Cells, Randal Donald Goff
Structure-Activity Studies Of Glycosphingolipids As Antigens Of Natural Killer T Cells, Randal Donald Goff
Theses and Dissertations
Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), composed of a polar saccharide head and a lipophilic ceramide tail, are ubiquitous components of the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells. They serve in many regulatory capacities and have antigenic properties towards natural killer T (NKT) cells of the innate immune system. Critical to the recognition of glycosylceramides by NKT cells are antigen presenting cells (APC), such as dendritic cells, which are responsible for binding, processing, and delivery of ligands to these lymphocytes. This event is mediated by CD1d, a major histocompatibility complex-like protein expressed on the surface of APCs, which binds GSL antigens by the ceramide moiety …
Synthesis Of Novel Antimycobacterials And A Fluorescent Sensor For Simple Carbohydrates, Brian Thomas Walker
Synthesis Of Novel Antimycobacterials And A Fluorescent Sensor For Simple Carbohydrates, Brian Thomas Walker
Theses and Dissertations
Cell surface carbohydrates play an important role in a wide variety of biological processes such as inflammation, tumor metastasis, and viral and bacterial infection. The goal of our research has been two-fold. The first objective was the synthesis of antimycobacterial compounds. A mannose containing tetrasaccharide from the mannan core of lipoarabinomannan (LAM) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been synthesized using α-D-methylmannopyranoside as starting material and Koeings-Knorr reactions to couple saccharides. The synthesis was completed in nine steps and in 14% total yield. This compound should be useful in competitive inhibition studies with macrophages or as an immunological marker. We have successfully …