Peer-reviewed publications (in reverse chronological order)

67   Verpalen ECJM, Brouwer AJ, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ. 2024. Structure-based design and synthesis of lipid A derivatives to modulate cytokine responses. Chem. Eur. J.: e202400429, In press (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202400429, online 08/Apr/2024).

66   Li T, Spruit CM, Wei N, Liu L, Wolfert MA, de Vries RP, and Boons GJ. 2024. Synthesis of tri-antennary N-glycans terminated with sialyl-Lewisx reveals the relevance of glycan complexity for influenza A virus receptor binding. Chem. Eur. J.: e202401108, In press (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202401108, online 03/Apr/2024).

65   Bunyatov M., Wolfert MA, Huizinga R, Schreurs M, Jacobs BC, and Boons GJ. 2024. Chemoenzymatic synthesis of human natural killer-1 containing glycans and application as serum antibodies probes. Nat. Synth. 3: 85-98.

Featured in a Nat. Synth. research briefing: Jacobs BC and Boons GJ. 2024. Synthetic glycans provide insight in binding properties of toxic serum antibodies. Nat. Synth. 3: 15-16..

64  Cecotto L, van Kessel K, Wolfert MA, Vogely C, van der Wal B, Weinans H, van Strijp J, and Amin Yavari S (2022) Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of host defense peptides against Staphylococcus aureus. iScience 25(10): 105211.

preprint     Bunyatov M, Wolfert MA, Huizinga R, Schreurs M, Jacobs BC, and Boons GJ (2022) Synthetic HNK-1 containing glycans provide insight into binding properties of serum antibodies from MAG-neuropathy patients. bioRxiv (DOI: 10.1101/2022.07.25.501369, posted 25 Jul 2022 0.

63  Liu L, Chopra P, Li X, Bouwman KM, Tompkins SM, Wolfert MA, de Vries RP, and Boons GJ (2021) Heparan sulfate proteoglycans as an initial attachment factor for SARS-CoV-2. ACS Cent. Sci. 7(6): 1009-1018.

62  Chopra P, Joshi A, Wu J, Lu W, Yadavalli T, Wolfert MA, Shukla D, Zaia J, and Boons GJ (2021) 3-O-Sulfation of heparan sulfate modulates protein binding and lyase degradation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 118(3): e2012935118.

preprint     Liu L, Chopra P, Li X, Bouwman KM, Tompkins SM, Wolfert MA, de Vries RP, and Boons GJ (2021) Heparan sulfate proteoglycans as attachment factor for SARS-CoV-2. bioRXiv (DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.10.087288, V2, posted 04 Jan 2021).

61  Srivastava AD, Unione L, Wolfert MA, Valverde P, Ardá A, Jiménez-Barbero J, and Boons GJ (2020) Molecular recognition of synthetic fucosylated glycans derived from the parasitic worm S. mansoni by the innate immune receptor DC-SIGN. Chem. Eur. J. 26(67): 15605-15612. Selected as "Hot Paper".

60  Li T, Wolfert, MA, Wei N, Huizinga R, Jacobs BC, and Boons GJ (2020) Chemoenzymatic synthesis of Campylobacter jejuni lipo-oligosaccharide core domains to examine Guillain-Barré syndrome serum antibody specificities. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142(46): 19611-19621.

59  Du W, Wolfert MA, Peeters B, van Kuppeveld FJM, Boons GJ, de Vries E, and de Haan CAM (2020) Mutation of the second sialic acid-binding site of influenza A virus neuraminidase drives compensatory mutations in hemagglutinin. PloS Pathog. 16(8): e1008816.

preprint     Liu L, Chopra P, Li X, Wolfert MA, Tompkins SM, and Boons GJ (2020) SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds heparan sulfate in a length- and sequence-dependent manner. bioRXiv (DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.10.087288, posted 10 May 2020).

Highlighted in The Medical News: SARS-CoV-2 binds heparan sulfate, preventing host cell infection. The Medical News, 12 May 2020.

58  t' Hart IME, Li T, Wolfert MA, Wang S, Moremen KW, and Boons GJ (2019) Chemoenzymatic synthesis of the oligosaccharide moiety of the tumor-associated antigen disialosyl globopentaosylceramide. Org. Biomol. Chem. 17(31): 7304-7308.

57  Gagarinov IA, Li T, Wei N, Sastre Toraño J, de Vries RP, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2019) Protecting group-controlled enzymatic glycosylation of oligo-N-acetyllactosamine derivatives. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 58(31): 10547-10552.

56  Broszeit F, Tzarum N, Zhu X, Nemanachvilli N, Eggink D, Leenders T, Li Z, Liu L, Wolfert MA, Papanikolaou A, Martinez-Romero C, Gagarinov IA, Yu W, Garcia-Sastre A, Wennekes T, Okamatsu M, Verheije MH, Wilson IA, Boons GJ, and de Vries RP (2019) N-glycolylneuraminic acid as a receptor for influenza A viruses. Cell Rep. 27(11): 3284-3294.e6.

55  Supekar NT, Lakshminarayanan V, Capicciotti C, Sirohiwal A, Madsen CS, Wolfert MA, Cohen PA, Gendler SJ, and Boons GJ (2018) Synthesis and immunological evaluation of a multicomponent cancer vaccine candidate containing a long MUC1 glycopeptide. ChemBioChem 19(2): 121-125.

54  Zong C, Venot A, Li X, Lu W, Xiao W, Wilkes JL, Salanga CL, Handel TM,Wang L, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2017) Heparan sulfate microarray reveals that heparan sulfate-protein binding exhibits different ligand requirements. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139(28): 9534-9543.

53  Prudden AR, Liu L, Capicciotti CJ, Wolfert MA, Wang S, Gao Z, Meng L, Moremen KW, and Boons GJ (2017) Synthesis of asymmetrical multiantennary human milk oligosaccharides. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 114(27): 6954-6959.

52  Martínez-Sáez N, Supekar NT, Wolfert MA, Bermejo IA, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Asensio JL, Jiménez-Barbero J, Busto JH, Avenoza A, Boons GJ, Peregrina JM, and Corzana F (2016) Mucin architecture behind the immune response: design and evaluation and conformational analysis of an antitumor vaccine derived from an unnatural MUC1 fragment. Chem. Sc. 7(3): 2294-2301.

51  Hudlikar MS, Li X, IGagarinov IA, Kolishetti N, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2016) Controlled multi-functionalization facilitates targeted delivery of nanoparticles to cancer cells. Chem. Eur. J. 22(4): 1415-1423.

50  Lakshminarayanan V, Supekar NT, Wei J, McCurry DB, Dueck AC, Kosiorek HE, Trivedi PP, Bradley JM, Madsen CS, Pathangey LB, Hoelzinger D, Wolfert MA, Boons GJ, Cohen PA, and Gendler SJ (2016) MUC1 vaccines, comprised of glycosylated or non-glycosylated peptides or tumor-derived MUC1, can circumvent immunoediting to control tumor growth in MUC1 transgenic mice. PLoS ONE 11(1): e0145920.

49  Thompson P, Lakshminarayanan V, Supekar NT, Bradley JM, Cohen PA, Wolfert MA, Gendler SJ, and Boons GJ (2015) Linear synthesis and immunological properties of a fully synthetic vaccine containing a sialylated MUC1 glycopeptide. Chem. Commun. 51(50): 10214-10217.

48  Prudden AR, Chinoy ZS,Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2014) A multifunctional anomeric linker for the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of complex oligosaccharides. Chem. Commun. 50(54): 7132-7135.

47  Abdel Aal AM, Lakshminarayanan V, Thompson P, Supekar N, Bradley JM, Wolfert MA, Cohen PA, Gendler SJ, and Boons GJ (2014) Immune and anticancer responses elicited by fully synthetic aberrantly glycosylated MUC1 tripartite vaccines modified by a TLR2 or TLR9 agonist. ChemBioChem 15(10): 1508-1513.

46  Mbua NE, Li X, Flanagan-Steet HR, Meng L, Aoki K., Moremen, KW, Wolfert MA, Steet R, and Boons GJ (2013) Selective exo-enzymatic labeling of N-glycans of living cells by recombinant ST6Gal I. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52(49): 13012-13015. Selected as "Hot Paper".

45  Wolfert MA and Boons GJ (2013) Adaptive immune activation: glycosylation does matter. Nat. Chem. Biol. 9(12): 776-784.

44  Mbua NE, Flanagan-Steet H, Johnson S, Wolfert MA, Boons GJ, and Steet R. (2013) Abnormal accumulation of sialylated glycoproteins visualized in Niemann-Pick Type C cells using the chemical reporter strategy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 110(25): 10207-10212.

43  Boltje TJ, Zhong W, Park J, Wolfert MA, Chen W, and Boons GJ. (2012) Chemical synthesis and immunological evaluation of the inner-core oligosaccharide of Francisella tularensis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134(34): 14255-14262.

42  Friscourt F, Ledin PA,Mbua NE, Flanagan-Steet HR, Wolfert MA,Steet R,and Boons GJ. (2012) Polar dibenzocyclooctynes for selective labeling of extracellular glycoconjugates of living cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134(11): 5381-5389.

41  Lakshminarayanan V, Thompson P, Wolfert MA, Buskas T, Bradley JM, Pathangey LB,Madsen CS, Cohen PA, Gendler SJ, and Boons GJ. (2012) Immune recognition of tumor-associated mucin MUC1 is achieved by a fully synthetic aberrantly glycosylated MUC1 tripartite vaccine. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 109(1): 261-266.

40  Akimoto Y, Miura Y, Toda T, Wolfert MA, Wells L, Boons GJ, Hart GW, Endo T, and Kawakami H. (2011) Morphological changes in diabetic kidney are associated with increased O-GlcNAcylation of cytoskeletal proteins including a-actinin 4. Clin. Proteomics 8(15).

39  Mbua NE, Guo J, Wolfert MA, Steet R, and Boons GJ (2011) Strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloadditions (SPAAC) reveal new features of glycoconjugate biosynthesis. ChemBioChem 12(12): 1912-1921.

38  Li X, Guo J, Asong J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2011) Multifunctional surface modification of gold-stabilized nanoparticles by bioorthogonal reactions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133(29): 11147-11153.

37  Guo J, ChenG, Ning X., Wolfert MA, Li X, Xu B, and Boons GJ (2010) Surface modification of polymeric micelles by strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloadditions. Chem. Eur. J. 16(45): 13360-13366. Selected for frontispiece.

Highlighted in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.: Manova R, van Beek TA, and Zuilhof H (2011) Surface functionalization by strain-promoted alkyne–azide click reactions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50(24): 5428–5430.

36  Kuzmin A, Poloukhtine A, Wolfert MA, and Popik VV (2010) Surface functionalization using catalyst-free azide–alkyne cycloaddition. Bioconjugate Chem. 21(11): 2076-2085.

Highlighted in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.: Manova R, van Beek TA, and Zuilhof H (2011) Surface functionalization by strain-promoted alkyne–azide click reactions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50(24): 5428–5430.

35  Gaekwad J, Zhang Y, Zhang W, Reeves J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2010) Differential induction of innate immune responses by synthetic lipid A derivatives.J. Biol. Chem. 285(38): 29375-29386).

34  Berghaus LJ, Moore JN, Hurley DJ, Vandenplas ML, Fortes BP, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2010) Innate immune responses of primary murine macrophage-lineage cells and RAW 264.7 cells to ligands of Toll-like receptors 2, 3, and 4. Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 33(5): 443-454.

33  Teo CF, Ingale S, Wolfert MA, Elsayed GA, Nöt, LG, Chatham JC, Wells L, and Boons GJ (2010) Glycopeptide-specific monoclonal antibodies suggest new roles for O-GlcNAc. Nature Chem. Biol. 6(5): 338-343.

32  Ning X, Temming RP, Dommerholt J,Guo J,Ania DB,Debets MF,Wolfert MA,Boons GJ, and van Delft FL (2010) Protein modification by strain-promoted alkyne-nitrone cycloaddition. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49(17): 3065-3068. Selected as "Hot Paper".

31  Maiti KK, DeCastro M, Abdel-Aal El-Sayed AM, Foote MI, WolfertMA, and BoonsGJ (2010) Chemical synthesis and proinflammatory responses of monophosphoryl lipid A adjuvant candidates. Eur. J. Org. Chem. (1): 80-91.

30  Poloukhtine AA, Mbua NE, Wolfert MA, Boons GJ, and Popik VV (2009) Selective labeling of living cells by a photo-triggered click reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131(43): 15769-15776.

29  Asong, J, Wolfert MA, Maiti K, Miller D, and Boons GJ (2009) Binding and cellular activation studies reveal that Toll-like receptor 2 can differentially recognize peptidoglycan from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. J. Biol. Chem. 284(13): 8643-8653.

28  Ingale, S, Wolfert MA, Buskas T, and Boons GJ (2009) Increasing the antigenicity of synthetic tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens by targeting Toll-like receptors. ChemBioChem 10(3): 455-463.

27  Zhang, Y, Gaekwad J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2008) Synthetic tetra-acylated derivatives of lipid A from Porphyromonas gingivalis are antagonists of human TLR4. Org. Biomol. Chem. 6(18): 3371-3381.

26  Vasan M, Rauvolfova J, Wolfert MA, Leoff C, Kannenberg EL, Quinn CP, Carlson RW, and Boons GJ (2008) Chemical synthesis and immunological properties of oligosaccharides derived from the vegetative cell wall of Bacillus anthracis. ChemBioChem 9(11): 1716-1720.

25  Ning, X, Guo J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2008) Visualizing metabolically-labeled glycoconjugates of living cells by copper-free and fast Huisgen cycloadditions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47(12): 2253-2255. Selected as a VIP paper.

24  Zhang, Y, Gaekwad J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2008) Innate immune responses of synthetic lipid A derivatives of Neisseria meningitidis. Chem. Eur. J. 14(2): 558-569.

23  Ingale, S, Wolfert MA, Gaekwad J, Buskas T, and Boons GJ (2007) Robust immune responses elicited by a fully synthetic three-component vaccine. Nature Chem. Biol. 3(10): 663-667.

Highlighted in Nature Chem. Biol.: Bundle DR (2007) A carbohydrate vaccine exceeds the sum of its parts. Nature Chem. Biol. 3(10): 605-606.

22  Zhang, Y, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2007) The influence of the long chain fatty acid on the antagonistic activities of Rhizobium sin-1 lipid A. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 15(14): 4800-4812.

21  Vasan M, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2007) Agonistic and antagonistic properties of Rhizobium sin-1 lipid A modified by an ether-linked lipid. Org. Biomol. Chem. 5(13): 2087-2097.

20  Zhang, Y, Gaekwad J, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2007) Modulation of innate immune responses with synthetic lipid A derivatives. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129(16): 5200-5216.

19  Wolfert MA, Roychowdhury A, and Boons GJ (2007) Modifications of the structure of peptidoglycan is a strategy to avoid detection by nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain protein 1. Infect. Immun. 75(2): 706-713. Selected for IAI Spotlight.

18  Lee HS, Wolfert MA, Zhang Y, and Boons GJ (2006) The 2-aminogluconate isomer of Rhizobium sin -1 lipid A can antagonize TNF-α production induced by enteric LPS. ChemBioChem 7(1): 140-148.

17  Roychowdhury A, Wolfert MA, and Boons GJ (2005) Synthesis and pro-inflammatory properties of muramyl tripeptides containing lysine and diaminopimelic acid moieties. ChemBioChem 6(11): 2088-2097.

16  Santhanam B, Wolfert MA, Moore JN, and Boons GJ (2004) Synthesis and biological evaluation of a lipid A derivative that contains an aminogluconate moiety. Chem. – Eur. J. 10(19): 4798-4807.

15  Demchenko AV, Wolfert MA, Santhanam B, Moore JN, and Boons GJ (2003) Synthesis and biological evaluation of Rhizobium sin-1 lipid A derivatives. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125(20): 6103-6112.

14  Wolfert MA, Murray TF, Boons GJ, and Moore JN (2002) The origin of the synergistic effect of muramyl dipeptide with endotoxin and peptidoglycan. J. Biol. Chem. 277(42): 39179-39186.

13  Siriwardena A, Jørgensen MR, Wolfert MA, Vandenplas ML, Moore JN, and Boons GJ (2001) Synthesis and proinflammatory effects of peptidoglycan-derived neoglycopeptide polymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123(33): 8145-8146.

12  Lee JK, Schnee J, Pang M, Wolfert M, Baum LG, Moremen KW, and Pierce M (2001) Human homologs of the Xenopus oocyte cortical granule lectin XL35. Glycobiology 11(1): 65-73.

11  Vanderkerken S, Vanheede T, Toncheva V, Schacht EH, Wolfert MA, Seymour LW, and Urtti A (2000) Synthesis and evaluation of poly(ethylene glycol)-polylysine block copolymers as carriers for gene delivery. J. Bioactive Compatible Polym. 15(2): 115-138.

10  Oupicky D, Konak C, Ulbrich K, Wolfert MA, and Seymour LW (2000) DNA delivery systems based on complexes of DNA with synthetic polycations and their copolymers. J. Controlled Release 65(1-2): 149-171.

9    Dash PR, Read ML, Fisher KD, Howard KA, Wolfert M, Oupicky D, Subr V, Strohalm J, Ulbrich K, and Seymour LW (2000) Decreased binding to proteins and cells of polymeric gene delivery vectors surface modified with a multivalent hydrophilic polymer and retargeting through attachment of transferrin. J. Biol. Chem. 275(6): 3793-3802.

8    Wolfert MA, Dash PR, Nazarova O, Oupicky D, Seymour LW, Smart S, Strohalm J, and Ulbrich K (1999) Polyelectrolyte vectors for gene delivery: influence of cationic polymer on biophysical properties of complexes formed with DNA. Bioconjugate Chem. 10(6): 993-1004.

7    Carlisle RC, Read ML, Wolfert MA, and Seymour LW (1999) Self-assembling poly(L-lysine)/DNA complexes capable of integrin-mediated cellular uptake and gene expression. Colloids Surf., B. 16(1-4): 261-272.

6    Dash PR, Read ML, Barrett LB, Wolfert M, and Seymour LW (1999) Factors affecting blood clearance and in vivo distribution of polyelectrolyte complexes for gene delivery. Gene Ther. 6(4): 643-650.

5    Toncheva V, Wolfert MA, Dash PR, Oupicky D, Ulbrich K, Seymour LW, and Schacht EH (1998) Novel vectors for gene delivery formed by self-assembly of DNA with poly(L-lysine) grafted with hydrophilic polymers. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1380(3): 354-368.

4    Wolfert MA and Seymour LW (1998) Chloroquine and amphipathic peptide helices show synergistic transfection in vitro. Gene Ther. 5(3): 409-414.

3    Hart SL, Arancibia-Carcamo CV, Wolfert MA, Mailhos C, O'Reilly NJ, Ali RR, Coutelle C, George AJ, Harbottle RP, Knight AM, Larkin DF, Levinsky RJ, Seymour LW, Thrasher AJ, and Kinnon C (1998) Lipid-mediated enhancement of transfection by a nonviral integrin-targeting vector. Human Gene Ther. 9(4): 575-585.

2    Wolfert MA, Schacht EH, Toncheva V, Ulbrich K, Nazarova O, and Seymour LW (1996) Characterization of vectors for gene therapy formed by self-assembly of DNA with synthetic block co-polymers. Human Gene Ther. 7(17): 2123-2133.

1    Wolfert MA and Seymour LW (1996) Atomic force microscopic analysis of the influence of the molecular weight of poly(L)lysine on the size of polyelectrolyte complexes formed with DNA. Gene Ther. 3(3): 269-273.

Doctoral thesis

Wolfert MA. 1998. Self-assembling systems based on synthetic polymers for gene delivery. PhD thesis, Institute for Cancer Studies, The Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham, UK.

Book contribution

Dash PR, Wolfert MA, Seymour LW. 1999. Polycation-based delivery systems for receptor-mediated gene delivery. In: Advanced Gene Delivery: From Concepts to Pharmaceutical Products, Rolland A (Ed.) Harwood Academic Publishers, ISBN 90-5702-438-1.