Neoglycan anticancer agents and uses thereof

The instant invention describes the production of neoglycans, compounds capable of inhibiting tumor cell growth. The heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 is a tumor suppressor molecule that inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. Attempts to create synthetic analogues of syndecan-1 by carbodiimide (EDAC) conjugation of a protein scaffold and GAG surprisingly revealed that the protein component is not required. Neoglycans consisting of EDAC-modified heparin and EDAC-modified chondroitin sulfate (CS), respectively named neoheparin and neo-chondroitin sulfate (neoCS), were found to inhibit multiple myeloma cell viability. Further analysis revealed the neoglycan compounds severely reduced cell viability of multiple myeloma, breast cancer and normal laboratory cell lines and peripheral blood mononuclear cells through the induction of apoptosis. Neoglycans provide a new class of GAG chain-based anticancer therapeutics.