Structural and mechanistic basis for a novel mode of glycosyltransferase inhibition

Glycosyltransferases are carbohydrate-active enzymes with essential roles in numerous important biological processes. We have developed a novel donor analogue for galactosyltransferases which locks a representative target enzyme in a catalytically inactive conformation, thus almost completely abolishing sugar transfer. Results with other galactosyltransferases suggest that this novel and unique mode of glycosyltransferase inhibition is, very likely, generally applicable to other members of this very important enzyme family also.