Neoglycopolymer inhibitors of the selectins

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(97)00707-2

The selectin class of proteins plays an important role in the inflammatory response. These proteins, which bind saccharide ligands, facilitate the recruitment of leukocytes to the inflamed endothelium. The ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) has been used to generate synthetic multidentate ligands, which display multiple copies of sulfated saccharide residues. By altering the structure of the appended saccharide residues, multivalent ligands that selectively target one member of the selectin family, P-selectin, were created. The biological activities of materials prepared from the same monomer unit varied, depending on the method of polymer preparation. This result suggests that polymers containing more repeat elements exhibit higher selectin inhibitory activities.