New tripeptide-based macrocyclic calpain inhibitors formed by N-alkylation of histidine

Synthesis and biological investigation of peptidomimetic SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors bearing quinoline-based heterocycles at P3

In the last few years, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been the cause of a worldwide pandemic, highlighting the need for novel antiviral agents. The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 was immediately identified as a crucial enzyme for viral replication and has been validated as a drug target. Here, we present the design and synthesis of peptidomimetic Mpro covalent inhibitors characterized by quinoline-based P3 moieties. Structure-activity relationships (SARs) were also investigated at P1 and P2, as well as for different warheads. The binding modes of the designed inhibitors were assessed using X-ray crystallographic and molecular docking studies. The identified Mpro inhibitors were tested for their antiviral activities in cell-based assays, and the results were encouraging. The SAR studies presented here can contribute to the future design of improved inhibitors by addressing some of the current or prospective issues regarding Mpro inhibitors currently used in therapy.

Mechanism-Based Macrocyclic Inhibitors of Serine Proteases

Protease inhibitor drug discovery is challenged by the lack of cellular and oral permeability, selectivity, metabolic stability, and rapid clearance of peptides. Here, we describe the rational design, synthesis, and evaluation of peptidomimetic side-chain-cyclized macrocycles which we converted into covalent serine protease inhibitors with the addition of an electrophilic ketone warhead. We have identified potent and selective inhibitors of TMPRSS2, matriptase, hepsin, and HGFA and demonstrated their improved protease selectivity, metabolic stability, and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. We obtained an X-ray crystal structure of phenyl ether-cyclized tripeptide VD4162 (8b) bound to matriptase, revealing an unexpected binding conformation. Cyclic biphenyl ether VD5123 (11) displayed the best PK properties in mice with a half-life of 4.5 h and compound exposure beyond 24 h. These new cyclic tripeptide scaffolds can be used as easily modifiable templates providing a new strategy to overcoming the obstacles presented by linear acyclic peptides in protease inhibitor drug discovery.

Design, synthesis, and applications of ring-functionalized histidines in peptide-based medicinal chemistry and drug discovery

Modified and synthetic α-amino acids are known to show diverse applications. Histidine, which possesses numerous applications when subjected to synthetic modifications, is one such amino acid. The utility of modified histidines varies widely from remarkable biological activities to catalysis, and from nanotechnology to polymer chemistry. This renders histidine residue an important place in scientific research. Histidine is a well-studied scaffold and constitutes the active site of various enzymes catalyzing important reactions in the biological systems. A rational modification in histidine structure with a distinctly developed protocol extensively changes its physical and chemical properties. The utilization of modified histidines in search of potent, target selective and proteostable scaffolds is vital in the development of bioactive peptides with enhanced drug-likeliness. This review is a compilation and analysis of reported side-chain ring modifications at histidine followed by applications of ring-modified histidines in the synthesis of various categories of bioactive peptides and peptidomimetics.

Cyclisation strategies for stabilising peptides with irregular conformations

Cyclisation is a common synthetic strategy for enhancing the therapeutic potential of peptide-based molecules. While there are extensive studies on peptide cyclisation for reinforcing regular secondary structures such as α-helices and β-sheets, there are remarkably few reports of cyclising peptides which adopt irregular conformations in their bioactive target-bound state. In this review, we highlight examples where cyclisation techniques have been successful in stabilising irregular conformations, then discuss how the design of cyclic constraints for irregularly structured peptides can be informed by existing β-strand stabilisation approaches, new computational design techniques, and structural principles extracted from cyclic peptide library screening hits. Through this analysis, we demonstrate how existing peptide cyclisation techniques can be adapted to address the synthetic design challenge of stabilising irregularly structured binding motifs.

Tripeptide analogues of MG132 as protease inhibitors

The 26S proteasome and calpain are linked to a number of important human diseases. Here, we report a series of analogues of the prototypical tripeptide aldehyde inhibitor MG132 that show a unique combination of high activity and selectivity for calpains over proteasome. Tripeptide aldehydes (1-3) with an aromatic P3 substituent show enhanced activity and selectivity against ovine calpain 2 relative to chymotrypsin-like activity of proteasome. Docking studies reveal the key contacts between inhibitors and calpain to confirm the importance of the S3 pocket with respect to selectivity between calpains 1 and 2 and the proteasome.

Calpain research for drug discovery: challenges and potential

Calpains are a family of proteases that were scientifically recognized earlier than proteasomes and caspases, but remain enigmatic. However, they are known to participate in a multitude of physiological and pathological processes, performing 'limited proteolysis' whereby they do not destroy but rather modulate the functions of their substrates. Calpains are therefore referred to as 'modulator proteases'. Multidisciplinary research on calpains has begun to elucidate their involvement in pathophysiological mechanisms. Therapeutic strategies targeting malfunctions of calpains have been developed, driven primarily by improvements in the specificity and bioavailability of calpain inhibitors. Here, we review the calpain superfamily and calpain-related disorders, and discuss emerging calpain-targeted therapeutic strategies.

Dynamic Docking of Conformationally Constrained Macrocycles: Methods and Applications

Many natural products consist of large and flexible macrocycles that engage their targets via multiple contact points. This combination of contained flexibility and large contact area often allows natural products to bind at target surfaces rather than deep pockets, making them attractive scaffolds for inhibiting protein-protein interactions and other challenging therapeutic targets. The increasing ability to manipulate such compounds either biosynthetically or via semisynthetic modification means that these compounds can now be considered as starting points for medchem campaigns rather than solely as ends. Modern medchem benefits substantially from rational improvements made on the basis of molecular docking. As such, docking methods have been enhanced in recent years to deal with the complicated binding modalities and flexible scaffolds of macrocyclic natural products and natural product-like structures. Here, we comprehensively review methods for treating and docking these large macrocyclic scaffolds and discuss some of the resulting advances in medicinal chemistry.

An updated patent review of calpain inhibitors (2012 - 2014)

INTRODUCTION

Calpain is a family of cysteine proteases found in eukaryotes and a few bacteria. There is considerable interest in the search for calpain inhibitors because the enzyme has been implicated in several diseases including ocular disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic disorders and cancer.

AREAS COVERED

An overview of calpain inhibitors disclosed between 2012 and 2014 is presented. Among these are epoxysuccinates, dipeptide imaging agents, macrocyclic inhibitors, α-helical peptidomimetic inhibitors, carboxamides, 5-azolones and α-mercaptoacrylates. Additionally, preclinical studies of calpain inhibitors in pathologies such blood disorders, ocular disorders, neurological disorders and muscle disorders are discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

Major advances made in calpain inhibitor research between 2012 and 2014 include: i) the discovery of cytosolic-stable carboxamide calpain inhibitors; ii) synthesis of epoxysuccinates with excellent bioavailability; iii) disclosure of the X-ray crystal structures of novel α-mercaptoacrylates bound to the pentaEF hand region from human calpain; and iv) disclosure of calpain inhibitors as anti-sickling agents. Several calpain inhibitors were reported but limited effort was directed towards the discovery of calpain isoform selective agents, which continues to dampen the therapeutic potential of calpain inhibitors.

Synthesis and extended activity of triazole-containing macrocyclic protease inhibitors

Peptide-derived protease inhibitors are an important class of compounds with the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a series of triazole-containing macrocyclic protease inhibitors pre-organized into a β-strand conformation and an evaluation of their activity against a panel of proteases. Acyclic azido-alkyne-based aldehydes are also evaluated for comparison. The macrocyclic peptidomimetics showed considerable activity towards calpain II, cathepsin L and S, and the 20S proteasome chymotrypsin-like activity. Some of the first examples of highly potent macrocyclic inhibitors of cathepsin S were identified. These adopt a well-defined β-strand geometry as shown by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray analysis, and molecular docking studies.

New 26S proteasome inhibitors with high selectivity for chymotrypsin-like activity and p53-dependent cytotoxicity

The 26S proteasome has emerged over the past decade as an attractive therapeutic target in the treatment of cancers. Here, we report new tripeptide aldehydes that are highly specific for the chymotrypsin-like catalytic activity of the proteasome. These new specific proteasome inhibitors demonstrated high potency and specificity for sarcoma cells, with therapeutic windows superior to those observed for benchmark proteasome inhibitors, MG132 and Bortezomib. Constraining the peptide backbone into the β-strand geometry, known to favor binding to a protease, resulted in decreased activity in vitro and reduced anticancer activity. Using these new proteasome inhibitors, we show that the presence of an intact p53 pathway significantly enhances cytotoxic activity, thus suggesting that this tumor suppressor is a critical downstream mediator of cell death following proteasomal inhibition.