Synthesis and Biological Activities of 5-Thio-α-GalCers

NKT cells, a unique subset of T cells that recognizes glycolipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules, are believed to produce key cytokines of both Th1 and Th2 T cells and are thus involved in the control of several types of immune response. As an active glycolipid antigen having α-galactosyl ceramide core structure, KRN7000 showed promising immunostimulation activity and was selected as an anticancer drug candidate for further clinical application. In this report, three new KRN7000 structural analogues were designed and synthesized, in which the ring oxygen of the galactopyranose residue is replaced by a sulfur atom along with the variation on the lipid chain. Their abilities for stimulating mouse NKT cells to produce IFN-γ and IL-4 were evaluated both in vivo and in vitro.