Scandium(iii) triflate-promoted serine/threonine-selective peptide bond cleavage

The site-selective cleavage of peptide bonds is an important chemical modification that is useful not only for the structural determination of peptides, but also as an artificial modulator of peptide/protein function and properties. Here we report site-selective hydrolysis of peptide bonds at the Ser and Thr positions with a high conversion yield. This chemical cleavage relies on Sc(iii)-promoted N,O-acyl rearrangement and subsequent hydrolysis. The method is applicable to a broad scope of polypeptides with various functional groups, including a post-translationally modified peptide that is unsuitable for enzymatic hydrolysis. The system was further extended to site-selective cleavage of a native protein, Aβ1-42, which is closely related to the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Selective hydrolysis of oxidized insulin chain B by a Zr(IV)-substituted Wells-Dawson polyoxometalate

We report for the first time on the selective hydrolysis of a polypeptide system by a metal-substituted polyoxometalate (POM). Oxidized insulin chain B, a 30 amino acid polypeptide, was selectively cleaved by the Zr(IV)-substituted Wells-Dawson POM, K15H[Zr(α2-P2W17O61)2]·25H2O, under physiological pH and temperature conditions in aqueous solution. HPLC-ESI-MS, LC-MS/MS, MALDI-TOF and MALDI-TOF MS/MS data indicate hydrolysis at the Phe1-Val2, Gln4-His5, Leu6-Cys(SO3H)7, and Gly8-Ser9 peptide bonds. The rate of oxidized insulin chain B hydrolysis (0.45 h(-1) at pH 7.0 and 60 °C) was calculated by fitting the integration values of its HPLC-UV signal to a first-order exponential decay function. (1)H NMR measurements show significant line broadening and shifting of the polypeptide resonances upon addition of the Zr(IV)-POM, indicating that interaction between the Zr(IV)-POM and the polypeptide takes place in solution. Circular dichroism (CD) measurements clearly prove that the flexible unfolded nature of the polypeptide was retained in the presence of the Zr(IV)-POM. The thermal stability of the Zr(IV)-POM in the presence of the polypeptide chain during the hydrolytic reaction was confirmed by (31)P NMR spectroscopy. Despite the highly negative charge of the Zr(IV)-POM, the mechanism of interaction appears to be dominated by a strong metal-directed binding between the positively charged Zr(IV) center and negatively charged amino acid side chains.

Tuning Cerium(IV)-Assisted Hydrolysis of Phosphatidylcholine Liposomes under Mildly Acidic and Neutral Conditions

With the goal of designing a lysosomal phospholipase mimic, we optimized experimental variables to enhance Ce(IV) -assisted hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes. Our best result was obtained with the chelating agent bis-tris propane (BTP). Similar to the hydrolytic enzyme, Ce(IV) -assisted hydrolysis of PC phosphate ester bonds was higher at lysosomal pH (∼4.8) compared to pH 7.2. In the presence of BTP, the average cleavage yield at ∼pH 4.8 and 37 °C was: 67±1 %, 5.7-fold higher than at ∼pH 7.2 and roughly equivalent to the percent of phospholipid found on the metal-accessible exo leaflet of small liposomes. No Ce(IV) precipitation was observed. When BTP was absent, there was significant turbidity, and the amount of cleavage at ∼pH 4.8 (69±1 %) was 2.1-fold higher than the yield obtained at ∼pH 7.2. Our results show that BTP generates homogenous solutions of Ce(IV) that hydrolyze phosphatidylcholine with enhanced selectivity for lysosomal pH.