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Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Glycosphingolipid Antigens
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Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Glycosphingolipid Antigens

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Trehalose diesters, lipoteichoic acids and α-GalCer: using chemistry to understand immunology

Bridget L Stocker1, Mattie S M Timmer2

  • 1School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand; Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, PO Box 7060, Wellington, New Zealand.

Carbohydrate Research
|October 1, 2013
PubMed

It is now widely recognised that glycolipids can play an important role in the activation and modulation of the immune system. Seminal findings in this field included the discovery of 'endotoxin' from Gram-negative bacteria, lipoteichoic acids from Gram-positive bacteria and 'cord factor' or trehalose dimycolates from mycobacteria. In this mini-review, we present our latest developments on deciphering how glycolipids modulate the immune response through the synthesis and biological evaluation of trehalose glycolipids, lipoteichoic acids and derivatives of α-GalCer. By doing so, we illustrate how chemistry can interface with immunology to aid in the understanding of disease, and show that synthesis can provide a powerful molecular tool for studying the role of glycolipids in biological systems.

Keywords:
CarbohydratesGlycolipidsImmunology

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