Synthesis and Applications of Fluorescent GPI Conjugates

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

The Chemical Synthesis Program of the Chemistry Division supports Professor Zhongwu Guo of Wayne State University to prepare GPI conjugates of small molecule dyes by chemical synthesis using the para-methoxybenzyl group for permanent hydroxyl protection as well as GPI-fluorescent protein conjugates by enzyme-catalyzed ligation of synthetic GPIs and proteins. The resulting GPI conjugates will be then utilized to study GPI anchorage of proteins to the cell membrane. This work would improve our skills and tool box for obtaining complex and important biomolecules and advance our fundamental knowledge about how cell surface proteins are attached to the cell membrane, a process that plays a pivotal role in many biological and pathological processes. The proposed work will have a significant impact on the fields of chemistry and biological sciences, including the development of new therapeutic strategies targeting at proteins on the cell surface. This project also helps educate undergraduate and graduate students and train highly demanding experts in the fields of synthetic and carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology.