KRN
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Understanding and Optimizing Borders
Faculty Sponsor
John Trant
Proposal
KRN
KRN 7000 is a bioactive glycolipid extract from the Japanese marine sponge Agelas mauritianus, that has been the talk of the science community for over 20 years. It is a α-galacatosylceramide which is a complex made of fats and carbohydrates that can form a defense complex which it triggers a response from T cells that express an invariant aβ T-cell receptor and other surface molecules that are like natural killer cells and also in the innate immune response; to treat some types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The behavior observed paved way for manufacture of more of the same glycolipid but with different components in order to increase the activity. One of these analogs increases the potential for chemicals to bind to bone tissue by nearly one hundred times in comparison to other analogs. These improvements show potential for clinical trials. This analogue increased molecular stability by removing the acetal functionality(R2C(OR’)2) in the polar head of the glycolipid after which a methylene group replaces the anomeric oxygen which are geometric variations found at oxygen in carbohydrate molecules. Through modification of the length of the linker, we are hoping to see promising results through further studies on the C-KRN. In order to understand the applications of this glycolipid, we are extending the linker by a single Carbon in order to make three C-KRN analogues. After manufacturing the molecule with an extended linker, the next step on the agenda is understanding the variety functions of the KRN 7000 and studying the bioactivity.
KRN
KRN
KRN 7000 is a bioactive glycolipid extract from the Japanese marine sponge Agelas mauritianus, that has been the talk of the science community for over 20 years. It is a α-galacatosylceramide which is a complex made of fats and carbohydrates that can form a defense complex which it triggers a response from T cells that express an invariant aβ T-cell receptor and other surface molecules that are like natural killer cells and also in the innate immune response; to treat some types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The behavior observed paved way for manufacture of more of the same glycolipid but with different components in order to increase the activity. One of these analogs increases the potential for chemicals to bind to bone tissue by nearly one hundred times in comparison to other analogs. These improvements show potential for clinical trials. This analogue increased molecular stability by removing the acetal functionality(R2C(OR’)2) in the polar head of the glycolipid after which a methylene group replaces the anomeric oxygen which are geometric variations found at oxygen in carbohydrate molecules. Through modification of the length of the linker, we are hoping to see promising results through further studies on the C-KRN. In order to understand the applications of this glycolipid, we are extending the linker by a single Carbon in order to make three C-KRN analogues. After manufacturing the molecule with an extended linker, the next step on the agenda is understanding the variety functions of the KRN 7000 and studying the bioactivity.