Discovery of a TNF-alpha antagonist using chondroitin sulfate microarrays

We report the first example of synthetic chondroitin sulfate (CS) microarrays to rapidly identify glycosaminoglycan-protein interactions and probe the specificity of proteins for distinct sulfation sequences. Using the microarrays, we identify a novel interaction between CS and TNF-alpha, a proinflammatory cytokine involved in rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and psoriasis. Moreover, we demonstrate that CS-E tetrasaccharides and polysaccharides enriched in the CS-E sulfation motif can inhibit the activity of this therapeutically important cytokine. We anticipate that carbohydrate microarrays will accelerate our understanding of glycosaminoglycan-protein interactions and the role of sulfation in modulating physiological and disease states.