Uses
Various publications have cited the use of N,N',N'',N''',N'''',N'''''-Hexaacetylchitohexaose in mutagenesis studies due to its antitumor effects.
Hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose is a hexamer of N-acetylglucosamine, a subunit of the natural polymer chitin. It functions as an elicitor in plants, inducing the expression of chitinases.Like chitin and some of its derivatives, hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose is a substrate of lysozyme.It also binds LysM domains on certain proteins, including an endopeptidase of T. thermophilus.Hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose heightens the immune response against Pseudomonas and Listeria in mice, stimulates cytokine secretion in mesenchymal stem cells, and inhibits nitric oxide production by activated macrophages.
Reactions
Chitohexaose has attracted wide interest due to its special bioactivities and these potential activities are significantly related to N-acetylation.
Herein, six chitohexaose fractions with different degrees of acetylation were prepared by selective N-acetylation and ion-exchange chromatography and further analyzed by ESI/MS.
It is revealed that all the six N-acetylated chitohexaoses were of single molecular weight, the molecular weights of which were exactly assigned to 1026.44 Da, 1068.44 Da, 1110.48 Da, 1152.48 Da, 1194.49 Da, and 1236.48 Da, respectively. These results suggested that the six prepared N-acetylated chitohexaoses were N-acetylchitohexaose (D5A1), di-N-acetylchitohexaose (D4A2), tri-N-acetylchitohexaose (D3A3), tetra-N-acetylchitohexaose (D2A4), penta-N-acetylchitohexaose (D1A5), and hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose (A6), respectively, which are of great significance to screen their bioactivities and discover well-defined chitooligosaccharide molecules as potential drugs.
- Access to N-acetylated chitohexaose with well-defined degrees of acetylation
- Li, Kecheng; Xing, Ronge; Liu, Song; Qin, Yukun; Li, Pengcheng - BioMed Research International, 2017, vol. 2017
