Find in Library

An unprecedented phosphatidylmonogalactosyldiacylglycerol pool (PGDG, <b>1</b>) rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids was isolated from the marine diatoms <i>Thalassiosira weissflogii</i>. Here we report for the first time the NMR characterization of this rare lipid from marine organisms along with a synthetic strategy for the preparation of a PGDG analog (<b>2</b>). PGDG <b>1</b> exhibited immunostimulatory activity in human dendritic cells (DCs) and the synthetic PGDG <b>2</b> was prepared to explore its mechanism of action. A Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) agonistic activity was evidenced in human and murine DCs underlying the antigen-specific T-cell activation of this class of molecules.