Context Effects on Human Milk Oligosaccharide Linkage Conformation and Dynamics Revealed by MA’AT Analysis

An emerging NMR method, MA’AT analysis, has been applied to investigate context effects on the conformational properties of several human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). The MA’AT model of the β-(1→4) linkage in the disaccharide, methyl β-lactoside (MeL), was compared to those obtained for the same linkage in the HMO trisaccharides, methyl 2′-fucosyllactoside (Me2′FL) and methyl 3-fucosyllactoside (Me3FL), and in the tetrasaccharide, methyl 2′,3-difucosyllactoside (Me2′,3DFL). MA’AT analysis revealed significant context effects on the mean values and circular standard deviations (CSDs) of the psi (ψ) torsion angles in these linkages. α-Fucosylation at both O2′Gal and O3Glc of MeL to give Me2′,3DFL significantly constrained librational motion about ψ (70% reduction in the CSD) and shifted its mean value by ∼18°. α-Fucosylation at the O3Glc of MeL to give Me3FL constrained ψ more than α-fucosylation at the O2Gal to give Me2′FL. These effects can be explained by the expected solution conformation of Me3FL, which closely resembles the Lewis^x trisaccharide. Comparisons of MA’AT models of ψ to those obtained by 1 μs aqueous molecular dynamics simulation (GLYCAM06) revealed identical trends, that is, MA’AT analysis was able to recapitulate molecular behavior in solution that was heretofore only available from MD simulation. The results highlight the capabilities of MA’AT analysis to determine probability distributions of molecular torsion angles in solution as well as degrees of librational averaging of these angles.