Synthesis of oligosaccharides related to cell wall polysaccharides of the fungi Candida and Aspergillus

The cell wall of opportunistic pathogenic yeast fungi Candida and mould fungi Aspergillus is highly important for the pathogenesis of fungal infections, as it is the first to interact with the cells of the host organism, is responsible for pathogen adhesion and intra- and intercellular communications and bears important antigenic determinants. Fungal cell walls are composed mainly of polysaccharides. Methods that are currently used to study biological functions of cell wall polysaccharides require samples that are structurally characterized and have sufficient homogeneity and purity. However, the isolation of such samples from fungal cultures is often poorly feasible. Therefore, synthetic oligosaccharides of strictly specified structure corresponding to polysaccharide fragments of the cell wall of pathogenic fungi are indispensable tools for investigating the biological functions of such compounds. The review surveys studies devoted to the synthesis of oligosaccharides corresponding to fragments of major polysaccharide components of the fungal cell wall of Candida and Aspergillus: mannan, $\alpha$- and $\beta$-$(1\to3)$-glucans, chitin, galactosaminogalactan and galactomannan.
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