Synthesis and reactivity of the monosaccharide esters of amino acids as models of teichoic acid fragment.

The increasing prevalence of sepsis from gram-positive bacterial pathogens necessitates further evaluation of the basic assumptions about the molecular pathogenesis of septic shock. Since diverse physiological functions of gram-positive bacteria are controlled by the degree of esterification of teichoic acids with D-alanine, we examined the reactivity of monosaccharide esters in which anomerically free or protected D-glucose is linked through its C-6 hydroxy group to either phenylalanyl or tyrosyl residues as models for teichoic acid fragment. We show that the attached sugar moiety induces activation of the amino acid residue. Due to the enhanced reactivity of the NH2 group in the monosaccharide esters studied, the formation of products generated by intramolecular and intermolecular glycation reactions is accelerated resulting in heterogeneous mixture of compounds. These findings suggest that, if similar adducts are formed by glycation of D-alanine in teichoic acid of gram-positive bacteria, they should be examined as potential bioactive ligands or chemical message for infection.