Combined chemical and enzymatic synthesis of the sialylated non reducing terminal sequence of GM1b glycolylated ganglioside, a potential human tumor marker.

N-Glycolylglucosamine 8 was synthesized in 4 steps from anisal glucosamine, via the new crystalline monochloracetyl derivatives 3, 4 and 7. N-Glycolylneuraminic acid 10 was prepared in 59% yield starting from pyruvate and a mixture of 8 and its manno epimer 9 in a 2:3 ratio, with immobilized sialic acid aldolase. Neu5Gc 10 was converted into CMP-NeuGc 11 in the presence of immobilized calf brain CMP-sialate synthetase. Finally 11 was used as a donor in the transfer to the acceptor beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-beta-D-GalNAc-OBn 12 catalyzed by a preparation of porcine liver (2-3)-alpha-sialyltransferase, roughly purified by a chromatography on Cibacron Blue-agarose. alpha-Neu5Gc-(2-3)-beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-beta-D-GalNac-OBn 13 isolated in 56% yield was deprotected to give the non-reducing terminal sequence of GM1b glycolylated ganglioside, which might be expressed in human tumors.