Evaluation of fluorescently labeled xylopyranosides as probes for proteoglycan biosynthesis

A new fluorescent analog to the antiproliferative 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl)-β-d-xylopyranoside has been synthesized and tested on a T24 cell line. The new analog was efficiently uptaken by the T24 cells but did not initiate priming of GAG chains. The results are similar to other fluorescently labeled analogs and we propose that these compounds are too large and unpolar to efficiently function as GAG-primers.