Ligand Interactions with E-Selectin. Identification of a New Binding Site for Recognition of N-Acyl Aromatic Glucosamine Substituents of Sialyl Lewis X

Several N-acylglucosamine derivatives of sialyl Lewis X (1−3) were prepared using a combined chemical enzymatic approach and evaluated as an inhibitor of E-selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. Compounds with aromatic functionality, 1 and 2, were found to be 3−10 times more potent than the N-acetyl derivative (14) in an ELISA E-selectin cell adhesion assay. Conformational analysis with NMR indicated that the sialyl Lewis x domain of 1 retained the conformation of the N-acetyl derivative (14) despite the presence of the N-naphthamido group. The dramatic order of magnitude increase in potency of these monovalent structures can be utilized to design more potent selectin-based cell adhesion inhibitors.