Synthesis of Peptide Disulfide-Bond Mimics by Using Fully Orthogonally Protected Diaminodiacids

Synthesis of Asp-based lactam cyclic peptides using an amide-bonded diaminodiacid to prevent aspartimide formation

Asp-based lactam cyclic peptides are considered promising drug candidates. However, using Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (Fmoc-SPPS) for these peptides also causes aspartimide formation, resulting in low yields or even failure to obtain the target peptides. Here, we developed a diaminodiacid containing an amide bond as a β-carboxyl-protecting group for Asp to avoid aspartimide formation. The practicality of this diaminodiacid has been illustrated by the synthesis of lactam cyclic peptide cyclo[Lys9,Asp13] KIIIA7-14 and 1Y.

Asparaginyl Endopeptidase-Mediated Peptide Cyclization for Phage Display

We report here an enzymatic strategy for asparaginyl endopeptidase-mediated peptide cyclization. Incorporation of chloroacetyl groups into the recognition sequence of OaAEP1 enabled intramolecular cyclization with Cys residues. Combining this strategy and phage display, we identified nanomolar macrocyclic peptide ligands targeting TEAD4. One of the bicyclic peptides binds to TEAD4 with a KD value of 139 nM, 16 times lower than its linear analogue, demonstrating the utility of this platform in discovering high-affinity macrocyclic peptide ligands.

Synthesis of disulfide-rich C-terminal Cys-containing peptide acids through a photocleavable side-chain anchoring strategy

A side-chain anchoring strategy has been developed as an effective method for the synthesis of C-terminal Cys-containing peptide acids. However, the application of this strategy to CCAs containing more than one disulfide bond is still hindered due to the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) lability of the anchored side-chain groups. Herein, we report a photocleavable side-chain anchoring strategy using newly developed molecules having photocleavable side-chain protecting groups that are stable against TFA cleavage to assist in the formation of disulfide bonds. The utility of this new strategy was demonstrated by the synthesis of Riparin 1.1 and hCNP22 containing one disulfide bond and α-conotoxin Vc1.1 containing two disulfide bonds. This new strategy will provide new possibilities for the synthesis of disulfide-rich C-terminal Cys-containing peptide acids.

Chemical synthesis of on demand-activated SUMO-based probe by a photocaged glycine-assisted strategy

The transiently-activated SUMO probes are conducive to understand the dynamic control of SENPs activity. Here, we developed a photocaged glycine-assisted strategy for the construction of on demand-activated SUMO-ABPs. The light-sensitive groups installed at G92 and G64 backbone of SUMO-2 can temporarily block probes activity and hamper aspartimide formation, respectively, which enabled the efficient synthesis of inert SUMO-2 propargylamide (PA). The probe could be activated to capture SENPs upon photo-irradiation not only in vitro but also in intact cells, providing opportunities to further perform intracellular time-resolved proteome-wide profiling of SUMO-related enzymes.

Development of an o-aminoanilide-mediated native chemical ligation-assisted DADA strategy for the synthesis of disulfide surrogate peptides

The hydrazide-based native chemical ligation-assisted diaminodiacid (DADA) strategy is an efficient method for synthesizing large-span disulfide bridge surrogates. However, it is difficult to synthesize disulfide bond surrogates at Gln-Cys or Asn-Cys ligation sites using this strategy. Herein, we report a peptide o-aminoanilide-mediated NCL-assisted DADA strategy that enables the synthesis of large-span peptide disulfide bridge surrogates containing only Gln-Cys or Asn-Cys ligation sites. Through this strategy, we successfully synthesized disulfide bond surrogates of conotoxin vil14a and κ-hefutoxin 1. This strategy provides a new option to obtain large-span peptide disulfide bridge substitutes for native chemical ligation at Gln-Cys and Asn-Cys sites.

Chemical synthesis of disulfide surrogate peptides by using beta-carbon dimethyl modified diaminodiacids

The replacement of disulfide bridges with metabolically stable isosteres is a promising strategy to improve the stability of disulfide-rich polypeptides towards reducing agents and isomerases. A diaminodiacid-based strategy is one of the most effective methods to construct disulfide bond mimics, but modified diaminodiacids have not been developed till now. Inspired by the fact that alkylation of disulfide bonds can regulate the activity of polypeptides, herein, we report the first example of thioether bridged diaminodiacids incorporating Cys C_β dimethyl modification, obtained by penicillamine (Pen)-based thiol alkylation. The utility of these new diaminodiacids was demonstrated by the synthesis of disulfide surrogates of oxytocin containing a short-span disulfide bond and of KIIIA with large-span disulfide bonds. This new type of synthetic bridge further extends the diaminodiacid toolbox to facilitate the study of the structure-activity relationship of disulfide-rich peptides.

Chemical synthesis and biological activity of peptides incorporating an ether bridge as a surrogate for a disulfide bond

Disulfide bridges contribute to the definition and rigidity of polypeptides, but they are inherently unstable in reducing environments and in the presence of isomerases and nucleophiles. Strategies to address these deficiencies, ideally without significantly perturbing the structure of the polypeptide, would be of great interest. One possible surrogate for the disulfide bridge is a simple thioether, but these are susceptible to oxidation. We report the introduction of an ether linkage into the biologically active, disulfide-rich peptides oxytocin, tachyplesin I, and conotoxin α-ImI, using an ether-containing diaminodiacid as the key building block, obtained by the stereoselective ring-opening addition reaction of an aziridine skeleton with a hydroxy group. NMR studies indicated that the derivatives with an ether surrogate bridge exhibited very small change of their three-dimensional structures. The analogs obtained using this novel substitution strategy were found to be more stable than the original peptide in oxidative and reductive conditions; without a loss of bioactivity. This strategy is therefore proposed as a practical and versatile solution to the stability problems associated with cysteine-rich peptides.

We report the first introduction of an ether linkage as surrogate into the disulfide-rich peptides using ether-containing diaminodiacid.

Robust synthesis of C-terminal cysteine-containing peptide acids through a peptide hydrazide-based strategy

A new robust strategy was reported for the epimerization-free synthesis of C-terminal Cys-containing peptide acids through mercaptoethanol-mediated hydrolysis of peptide thioesters prepared in situ from peptide hydrazides. This simple-to-operate and highly efficient method avoids the use of derivatization reagents for resin modification, thus providing a practical avenue for the preparation of C-terminal Cys-containing peptide acids.

Non-reducible disulfide bond replacement implies that disulfide exchange is not required for hepcidin-ferroportin interaction

Previous studies have led to opposing hypotheses about the requirement of intermolecular disulfide exchange in the binding of the iron regulatory peptide hepcidin to its receptor ferroportin. To clarify this issue, we used the diaminodiacid approach to replace the disulfide bonds in hepcidin with non-reducible thioether bonds. Our results implied that disulfide exchange is not required for the interaction between hepcidin and ferroportin. This theory is further supported by our development of biologically active minihepcidins that do not show activity dependence on cysteine.