10.1002/cmdc.202100158
The study investigates the interaction of a triantennary quinoline glycoconjugate with the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) for targeted drug delivery to hepatocytes. The researchers synthesized a novel triantennary galactose-conjugated quinoline derivative (4) by attaching a triantennary linker to a bioactive quinoline core and then conjugating it with three galactose azide derivatives. This glycoconjugate demonstrated a 17-fold higher binding affinity to the ASGPR-H1-CRD protein receptor (Kd~54 μM) compared to D-galactose (Kd~900 μM). The study also involved the cloning, expression, and purification of the ASGPR-H1-CRD protein from Huh7 cells, which was used for in vitro binding studies. Micro-calorimetric studies revealed that glycoconjugate 4 selectively bound to ASGPR-rich Huh7 cells, showing no significant interaction with non-ASGPR Chang cells. However, the glycoconjugate did not exhibit significant mTOR inhibition at micromolar concentrations. The study highlights the potential of this glycoconjugate for targeted delivery to hepatocytes, with ongoing work focusing on improving its mTOR inhibitory activity.