A silyl ether-protected building block for O-GlcNAcylated peptide synthesis to enable one-pot acidic deprotection

In this report, we introduce a novel building block for Fmoc/tBu solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) of β-linked O-GlcNAcylated peptides. This building block carries acid labile silyl ether protecting groups, which are fully removed under TFA-mediated peptide cleavage conditions from the resin, thus requiring fewer synthetic steps and no intermediate purification as compared to other acid or base labile protecting group strategies.

Effect of Site-Specific O-Glycosylation on the Structural Behavior of NOTCH1 Receptor Extracellular EGF-like Domains 11 and 10

Human NOTCH1 receptor contains 36 epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeating domains, in which O-glycosylation status of EGF12 domain regulates the interaction with Notch ligands. Our interest is focused on the effect of specific O-glycosylation states on the structural behavior of EGF11 and EGF10, because they appeared to affect molecular mechanism in receptor-ligand interactions by inducing some conformational alterations in these domains and/or the regions connecting two domains. To understand the structural impact of various O-glycosylation patterns on the pivotal EGF-like repeats 10, 11, and 12, we performed chemical synthesis and NMR studies of site-specifically O-glycosylated EGF11 and EGF10. Our strategy enabled us to synthesize four EGF11 and five EGF10 modules. The specific O-glycosylation states affected in vitro folding of EGF10 more than EGF11, while calcium ion had a larger effect on EGF11 folding. Comprehensive NMR studies shed light on the new type "sugar bridges" crosslinking Thr-O-GlcNAc in the consensus sequence C5-X-X-G-X-(T/S)-G-X-X-C6 and an amino acid in the hinge region between the domains, 445Thr-O-GlcNAc-IIe451 in domain 11 and 405Thr-O-GlcNAc-Gln411 in domain 10, respectively.

Improving Selectivity, Proteolytic Stability, and Antitumor Activity of Hymenochirin-1B: A Novel Glycosylated Staple Strategy

As a host defense peptide, hymenochirin-1B has attracted increasing attention for its strong cytotoxic activities. However, its poor selectivity and proteolytic stability remain major obstacles for clinical application. To solve these problems, we designed and synthesized a series of peptide analogues of hymenochirin-1B based on cationic residue substitution and stapling combined with a glycosylation strategy. Some analogues showed improvement not only in selectivity and proteolytic stability but also in antitumor activity. Among them, the glycosylated stapled peptide H-58 was identified as the most potential antitumor peptide. Flow cytometry and a competitive binding assay revealed that H-58 displayed significant antitumor selectivity. Confocal microscopy and nuclear staining with Hoechst dye demonstrated that H-58 entered the nucleus and caused DNA damage. In summary, the strategy of glycosylated stapled peptides is a promising approach for improving the antitumor selectivity, proteolytic stability, and antitumor activity of hymenochirin-1B, which can be used for other bioactive peptide modifications.

Simple and Efficient Preparation of O- and S-GlcNAcylated Amino Acids through InBr3-Catalyzed Synthesis of β- N-Acetylglycosides from Commercially Available Reagents

The facile synthesis of serine, threonine, and cysteine β-glycosides using commercially available peracetylated β- N-acetylglucosamine (β-Ac₄GlcNAc) and catalytic amounts of indium bromide (InBr₃) is described. This method involves only inexpensive reagents that require no further modification or special handling. The reagents are simply mixed, dissolved, and refluxed to afford the GlcNAcylated amino acids in great yields (70-80%). This operationally simple procedure should facilitate the study of O-GlcNAcylation without necessitating expertise in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry.

Solid-Phase O-Glycosylation with a Glucosamine Derivative for the Synthesis of a Glycopeptide

An efficient synthesis of the O-linked glycosylamino acid Fmoc–l-Ser((Ac)3–β-d-GlcNAc)-OH building block is described. The utility of the method was demonstrated with direct solid-phase O-glycosylation of the hydroxyl group on the amino acid (Ser) side chain of a human α-A crystallin-derived peptide (AIPVSREEK) in nearly quantitative glycosylation yield.

Advances in Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis

Today, Fmoc SPPS is the method of choice for peptide synthesis. Very-high-quality Fmoc building blocks are available at low cost because of the economies of scale arising from current multiton production of therapeutic peptides by Fmoc SPPS. Many modified derivatives are commercially available as Fmoc building blocks, making synthetic access to a broad range of peptide derivatives straightforward. The number of synthetic peptides entering clinical trials has grown continuously over the last decade, and recent advances in the Fmoc SPPS technology are a response to the growing demand from medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. Improvements are being continually reported for peptide quality, synthesis time and novel synthetic targets. Topical peptide research has contributed to a continuous improvement and expansion of Fmoc SPPS applications.

Influence of polar side chains modifications on the dual enkephalinase inhibitory activity and conformation of human opiorphin, a pain perception related peptide

The dual inhibitory action of the pain related peptide opiorphin (H-Gln-Arg-Phe-Ser-Arg-OH) against neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and aminopeptidase N (AP-N) was further investigated by a SAR study involving minor modifications on the polar side chains of Arg residues and glycosylation with monosaccharides at Ser. None of them exerted dual or individual inhibitory potency superior than opiorphin. However, the correlations deduced offer further proof for the key role of these residues upon the binding and bioactive conformational stabilization of opiorphin. NMR conformational studies on the glycopeptides suggest that they are still very flexible compounds that may attain their respective bioactive conformations.

OGlcNAcylation and phosphorylation have similar structural effects in α-helices: post-translational modifications as inducible start and stop signals in α-helices, with greater structural effects on threonine modification

OGlcNAcylation and phosphorylation are the major competing intracellular post-translational modifications of serine and threonine residues. The structural effects of both post-translational modifications on serine and threonine were examined within Baldwin model α-helical peptides (Ac-AKAAAAKAAAAKAAGY-NH₂ or Ac-YGAKAAAAKAAAAKAA-NH₂). At the N-terminus of an α-helix, both phosphorylation and OGlcNAcylation stabilized the α-helix relative to the free hydroxyls, with a larger induced structure for phosphorylation than for OGlcNAcylation, for the dianionic phosphate than for the monoanionic phosphate, and for modifications on threonine than for modifications on serine. Both phosphoserine and phosphothreonine resulted in peptides more α-helical than alanine at the N-terminus, with dianionic phosphothreonine the most α-helix-stabilizing residue here. In contrast, in the interior of the α-helix, both post-translational modifications were destabilizing with respect to the α-helix, with the greatest destabilization seen for threonine OGlcNAcylation at residue 5 and threonine phosphorylation at residue 10, with peptides containing either post-translational modification existing as random coils. At the C-terminus, both OGlcNAcylation and phosphorylation were destabilizing with respect to the α-helix, though the induced structural changes were less than in the interior of the α-helix. In general, the structural effects of modifications on threonine were greater than the effects on serine, because of both the lower α-helical propensity of Thr and the more defined induced structures upon modification of threonine than serine, suggesting threonine residues are particularly important loci for structural effects of post-translational modifications. The effects of serine and threonine post-translational modifications are analogous to the effects of proline on α-helices, with the effects of phosphothreonine being greater than those of proline throughout the α-helix. These results provide a basis for understanding the context-dependent structural effects of these competing protein post-translational modifications.

OGlcNAcylation and phosphorylation have opposing structural effects in tau: phosphothreonine induces particular conformational order

Phosphorylation and OGlcNAcylation are dynamic intracellular protein post-translational modifications that frequently are alternatively observed on the same serine and threonine residues. Phosphorylation and OGlcNAcylation commonly occur in natively disordered regions of proteins, and often have opposing functional effects. In the microtubule-associated protein tau, hyperphosphorylation is associated with protein misfolding and aggregation as the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease, whereas OGlcNAcylation stabilizes the soluble form of tau. A series of peptides derived from the proline-rich domain (residues 174-251) of tau was synthesized, with free Ser/Thr hydroxyls, phosphorylated Ser/Thr (pSer/pThr), OGlcNAcylated Ser/Thr, and diethylphosphorylated Ser/Thr. Phosphorylation and OGlcNAcylation were found by CD and NMR to have opposing structural effects on polyproline helix (PPII) formation, with phosphorylation favoring PPII, OGlcNAcylation opposing PPII, and the free hydroxyls intermediate in structure, and with phosphorylation structural effects greater than OGlcNAcylation. For tau196-209, phosphorylation and OGlcNAcylation had similar structural effects, opposing a nascent α-helix. Phosphomimic Glu exhibited PPII-favoring structural effects. Structural changes due to Thr phosphorylation were greater than those of Ser phosphorylation or Glu, with particular conformational restriction as the dianion, with mean (3)JαN = 3.5 Hz (pThr) versus 5.4 Hz (pSer), compared to 7.2, 6.8, and 6.2 Hz for Thr, Ser, and Glu, respectively, values that correlate with the backbone torsion angle ϕ. Dianionic phosphothreonine induced strong phosphothreonine amide protection and downfield amide chemical shifts (δmean = 9.63 ppm), consistent with formation of a stable phosphate-amide hydrogen bond. These data suggest potentially greater structural importance of threonine phosphorylation than serine phosphorylation due to larger induced structural effects.

Optimization of physicochemical and pharmacological properties of peptide drugs by glycosylation

Many biological interactions and functions are mediated by glycans, leading to the emerging importance of carbohydrate and glycoconjugate chemistry in the design of novel drug therapeutics. In addition to direct effects on biological activity, sugar addition appears to alter many physicochemical and pharmacological properties of the peptide backbone. Consequently, glycosylation has been often used to improve various less than optimal features of peptide drug leads.In order to study the effects that naturally occurring and/or nonnatural glycans have on peptide drug solubility, conformation, proteolytic resistance, membrane permeability, and toxicity, it is essential to have convenient synthetic access toward synthesis of glycopeptide analogs. The crucial step in the synthesis of glycopeptides is the introduction of the carbohydrate group. The preformed glycosyl amino acid building block is the most commonly employed approach used in glycopeptide synthesis.In this review, we will describe various synthetic approaches to prepare N- and O-glycopeptides bearing simple monosaccharides as a tool to improve peptide therapeutic efficacy by glycosylation.

Enhanced epimerization of glycosylated amino acids during solid-phase peptide synthesis

Glycopeptides are extremely useful for basic research and clinical applications, but access to structurally defined glycopeptides is limited by the difficulties in synthesizing this class of compounds. In this study, we demonstrate that many common peptide coupling conditions used to prepare O-linked glycopeptides result in substantial amounts of epimerization at the α position. In fact, epimerization resulted in up to 80% of the non-natural epimer, indicating that it can be the major product in some reactions. Through a series of mechanistic studies, we demonstrate that the enhanced epimerization relative to nonglycosylated amino acids is due to a combination of factors, including a faster rate of epimerization, an energetic preference for the unnatural epimer over the natural epimer, and a slower overall rate of peptide coupling. In addition, we demonstrate that use of 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine (TMP) as the base in peptide couplings produces glycopeptides with high efficiency and low epimerization. The information and improved reaction conditions will facilitate the preparation of glycopeptides as therapeutic compounds and vaccine antigens.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and structural characterization of novel glycopeptide analogues of nociceptin N/OFQ

To examine if the biological activity of the N/OFQ peptide, which is the native ligand of the pain-related and viable drug target NOP receptor, could be modulated by glycosylation and if such effects could be conformationally related, we have synthesized three N/OFQ glycopeptide analogues, namely: [Thr(5)-O-α-D-GalNAc-N/OFQ] (glycopeptide 1), [Ser(10)-O-α-D-GalNAc]-N/OFQ (glycopeptide 2) and [Ser(10)-O-β-D-GlcNAc]-N/OFQ] (glycopeptide 3). They were tested for biological activity in competition binding assays using the zebrafish animal model in which glycopeptide 2 exhibited a slightly improved binding affinity, whereas glycopeptide 1 showed a remarkably reduced binding affinity compared to the parent compound and glycopeptide 3. The structural analysis of these glycopeptides and the parent N/OFQ peptide by NMR and circular dichroism indicated that their aqueous solutions are mainly populated by random coil conformers. However, in membrane mimic environments a certain proportion of the molecules of all these peptides exist as α-helix structures. Interestingly, under these experimental conditions, glycopeptide 1 (glycosylated at Thr-5) exhibited a population of folded hairpin-like geometries. From these facts it is tempting to speculate that nociceptin analogues showing linear helical structures are more complementary and thus interact more efficiently with the native NOP receptor than folded structures, since glycopeptide 1 showed a significantly reduced binding affinity for the NOP receptor.

Influence of serine O-glycosylation or O-phosphorylation close to the vJun nuclear localisation sequence on nuclear import

Nuclear import triggered by the nuclear-localisation sequence (NLS) of the viral Jun (vJun) protein is mediated by phosphorylation of a serine close to the NLS. Since phosphorylation and glycosylation of serine residues are often in a reciprocal "yin-yang" relationship, we investigated whether glycosylation of this serine with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) would also regulate nuclear import via the vJun NLS. Peptides containing the vJun NLS with an adjacent O-phosphorylated, O-GlcNAc-functionalised or unmodified serine, and equipped with an N-terminal biotin or a 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazolyl (NBD) fluorescent label, were synthesised on the solid phase by means of an Fmoc/Boc strategy and a Pd0-sensitive HYCRON linker. Fluorescence-polarisation measurements on the NBD-labelled peptides indicated that modification with phosphate or O-GlcNAc leads to a decrease in affinity to the import-mediating adapter protein, importin alpha, of about one order of magnitude compared to the unmodified NLS. Microinjection of biotinylated NLS peptide conjugated with fluorescently labelled avidin into NIH/3T3 and MDCK cells, revealed that avidin-unmodified-NLS peptide was rapidly imported into the nucleus. However, either phosphate or O-GlcNAc next to the NLS caused almost complete exclusion of the protein conjugate from nuclear import. These findings indicate that nuclear import by the vJun NLS might not be regulated by a "yin-yang" modification of an adjacent serine with phosphate or O-GlcNAc. Rather, negative regulation of binding between the polybasic NLS and importin by a negatively charged or a bulky, uncharged residue appears likely.

Practical synthesis of the 2-acetamido-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucosides of Fmoc-serine and Fmoc-threonine and their benzyl esters

Mercuric bromide-promoted glycosylation of Fmoc-Ser-OBn and Fmoc-Thr-OBn with 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl chloride in refluxing 1,2-dichloroethane gave the corresponding beta-glycosides in good yields (64 and 62%, respectively). Direct coupling of the commercially available Fmoc-Ser-OH and Fmoc-Thr-OH carboxylic acids under similar conditions gave the corresponding beta-glycosides, possessing free carboxyl groups, in moderate yields (50 and 40%, respectively).

Studies toward the site specific incorporation of sugars into proteins: synthesis of glycosylated aminoacyl-tRNAs

A series of glycosylated serine derivatives was synthesized from peracetylated sugars and Fmoc-protected serine; these were chemically esterified with the tris-(tetrabutylammonium) salt of pdCpA. The fully protected and deprotected glycosylated aminoacyl pdCpAs were ligated enzymatically to an abbreviated tRNA (tRNA-C(OH)) to provide the title compounds that are key intermediates in the elaboration of glycoproteins using readthrough of a nonsense codon.

Glycopeptide synthesis and the effects of glycosylation on protein structure and activity

Despite the omnipresence of protein glycosylation in nature, little is known about how the attachment of carbohydrates affects peptide and protein activity. One reason is the lack of a straightforward method to access biologically relevant glycopeptides and glycoproteins. The isolation of homogeneous glycopeptides from natural sources is complicated by the heterogeneity of naturally occuring glycoproteins. It is chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis that is meeting the challenge to solve this availability problem, thus playing a key role for the advancement of glycobiology. The current art of glycopeptide synthesis, albeit far from being routine, has reached a level of maturity that allows for the access to homogeneous and pure material for biological and medicinal research. Even the ambitious goal of the total synthesis of an entire glycoprotein is within reach. It is demonstrated that with the help of synthetic glycopeptides the effects of glycosylation on protein structure and function can be studied in molecular detail. For example, in immunology, synthetic (tumour-specific) glycopeptides can be used as immunogens to elicit a tumour-cell-specific immune response. Again, synthetic glycopeptides are an invaluable tool to determine the fine specificity of the immune response that can be mediated by both carbohydrate-specific B and T cells. Furthermore, selected examples for the use of synthetic glycopeptides as ligands of carbohydrate-binding proteins and as enzyme substrates or inhibitors are presented.

An efficient synthesis of two monosulfated trisaccharides with the Galbeta1,3GlcNacbeta1,3Galbeta-O-allyl backbone

The GlcNAcbeta(1-->3) Gal linked disaccharide 7 was synthesized as key building blocks for the construction of target monosulfated trisaccharides 1 and 2 using oxazoline 3 as glycosyl donor promoted by BF3 x Et2O.