Metabolism, Organ Distribution, and Blood-Brain Barrier Penetration of Human Milk Oligosaccharides—6′/3′-Sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine
3′-sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine (3′-SLN) and 6′-sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine (6′-SLN) are two important human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) which play significant functions in brain development and antiviral potential. However, their metabolism is still unknown. In this study, chemoenzymatically synthesized 3′-SLN and 6′-SLN were labeled with cyanine-7 (Cy7) via formation triazole (Tz) derivatives to investigate their metabolism and organ distribution in a mouse model. The fluorescence signals were detected in the brains of mice after 0.5 h of gavage with 3′-SLN-Tz-Cy7 and 6′-SLN-Tz-Cy7. It was found for the first time that both of them can cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) as a whole and reach the brain in a sex-specific manner. And the results show that, whether in the in vivo imaging results or the brain fluorescence signal results, the male mice absorbed 3′-SLN-Tz-Cy7 more than 6′-SLN-Tz-Cy7; meanwhile, in the female mice, the results were exactly the opposite. Both 3′-SLN-Tz-Cy7 and 6′-SLN-Tz-Cy7 exhibited the highest fluorescence intensity in pulmonary tissues, followed by substantial hepatic deposition. This study would offer preliminary evidence for the hypothesis that the oral administration of 3′-SLN and 6′-SLN may promote brain development and provide a foundation for the further exploration of their functions in brain cognition.
Authors
- Bowen Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6751-9275)
- Runmiao Jiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2779-4846)
- Zhuo A. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4707-036X)
- Eika Weihua QIAN (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2424-5673)
- Jianjun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2842-5663)
- Bing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2146-8529)
- Yuguang Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4809-0717)
- Mengyuan Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6996-6510)
- Eryi Ju
Institutions
- Charles Sturt University (AU)
- Institute of Process Engineering (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied Sciences
- Published
- 2025-12-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312753
- Primary Topic
- Infant Nutrition and Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00