Disialyl Glycans (as Immunoregulators, Prebiotics, and Antimicrobials) as Potential Therapeutics
Method to prevent Necrotizing Enterocolitis Cheap, fast, and easy to manufacture Large scale production is feasible
Treatment to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a medical condition primarily seen in premature infants. NEC is the second most common cause of morbidity in premature infants, and when a child is born prematurely, thought is immediately given to preventing the risk of developing NEC. In a 2012 policy statement the American-Academy of Pediatrics recommended feeding preterm infants human milk, finding “significant short- and long-term beneficial effects,” mainly lowering rates of NEC. Disialyllacto-N-tetraose, a hexasaccharide found in human milk, has been previously identified to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Despite the potential therapeutic benefits of this glycan, this carbohydrate cannot be mass produced for numerous reasons. Human milk is not readily available, making it impractical to purify the disialyllacto-N-tetraose from human milk for treating preterm infants. Additionally, chemical synthesis of the relatively complex hexasaccharide is quite challenging and the cost is high. Alternatively, enzymatic synthesis is not feasible as the glycosyltransferase, which adds a sialic acid to the internal N-acetyl glucosamine residue, has not been identified. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have engineered a novel disialyl oligosaccharide which has been shown to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis. Additionally, researchers have also developed a sequential one-pot multienzyme system to mass produce this novel disialyl oligosaccharide, which shares a number of structural similarities with the naturally occurring Disialyllacto-N-tetraose, thus providing a treatment to prevent NEC in preterm infants.
9290530
Tech ID/UC Case 23706/2010-207-2 Related Cases 2010-207-2, 2014-147-0
USA
