Compound having cyclic structure and use thereof

1. A compound represented by the following formula (1′) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, R 2 is a C2-18 hydrocarbon group optionally having substituent(s), R 3 is an acyl group, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, and p is an integer of 0-4.

2. The compound of claim 1 , which is represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, m is an integer of 0-26, n is an integer of 0-16 and p is an integer of 0-4.

3. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.

4. A compound represented by the following formula (3) or a salt thereof:

wherein

X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—,

each A is independently a hydrogen atom or a t-butyldimethylsilyl group,

B is a hydrogen atom, a tosyl group or —CO(CH 2 ) m CH 3 (m is an integer of 0-26) and

n is an integer of 0-16.

5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising (a) the compound of claim 1 , or a salt thereof and (b) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

6. A method of therapeutically treating an autoimmune disease in a mammal in need thereof, comprising administering to the mammal an effective amount of the compound of claim 1 , or a salt thereof, whereupon the disease is therapeutically treated.

7. A method of activating an NKT cell in a mammal in need thereof, comprising administering to the mammal an effective amount of the compound of claim 1 , or a salt thereof, whereupon the NKT cell is activated.

8. A method of selectively inducing IL-4 production in a mammal in need thereof, comprising administering to the mammal an effective amount of the compound of claim 1 , or a salt thereof, whereupon IL-4 production is selectively induced.

9. The compound of claim 2 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.

10. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 5 , wherein the compound is represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, m is an integer of 0-26, n is an integer of 0-16 and p is an integer of 0-4.

11. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 5 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the autoimmune disease is selected from the group consisting of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, vitiligo vulgaris, Behcet's disease, collagen disease, Type I diabetes mellitus, uveitis, Sjogren's syndrome, autoimmune myocarditis, autoimmune hepatic diseases, autoimmune gastritis, pemphigus, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the compound is represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, m is an integer of 0-26, n is an integer of 0-16 and p is an integer of 0-4.

14. The method of claim 6 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the compound is represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, m is an integer of 0-26, n is an integer of 0-16 and p is an integer of 0-4.

16. The method of claim 7 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein the compound is represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

wherein R is an aldopyranose residue, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or —NH—, m is an integer of 0-26, n is an integer of 0-16 and p is an integer of 0-4.

18. The method of claim 8 , wherein R is α-D-galactopyranosyl, or a salt thereof.