Synthesis of sp-Iminosugar Selenoglycolipids as Multitarget Drug Candidates with Antiproliferative, Leishmanicidal and Anti-Inflammatory Properties.

sp-Iminosugar glycolipids (sp-IGLs) represent a consolidated family of glycoconjugate mimetics encompassing a monosaccharide-like glycone moiety with a pseudoamide-type nitrogen replacing the endocyclic oxygen atom of carbohydrates and an axially-oriented lipid chain anchored at the pseudoanomeric position. The combination of these structural features makes them promising candidates for the treatment of a variety of conditions, spanning from cancer and inflammatory disorders to parasite infections. The exacerbated anomeric effect associated to the putative sp-hybridized N-atom imparts chemical and enzymatic stability to sp-IGLs and warrants total α-anomeric stereoselectivity in the key glycoconjugation step. A variety of -, -, - and -pseudoglycosides, differing in glycone configurational patterns and lipid nature, have been previously prepared and evaluated. Here we expand the chemical space of sp-IGLs by reporting the synthesis of α-d-gluco-configured analogs with a bicyclic (5,6-oxomethylidene)nojirimycin (ONJ) core incorporating selenium at the glycosidic position. Structure-activity relationship studies in three different scenarios, namely cancer, Leishmaniasis and inflammation, convey that the therapeutic potential of the sp-IGLs is highly dependent, not only on the length of the lipid chain (linear aliphatic C vs. C), but also on the nature of the glycosidic atom (nitrogen vs. sulfur vs. selenium). The ensemble of results highlights the α-dodecylseleno-ONJ-glycoside as a promising multitarget drug candidate.