International journal of peptide and protein research最新文献

The impurities which formed in the large-scale synthesis of THF-gamma 2, an immunomodulatory peptide of formula H-Leu-Glu-Asp-Gly-Pro-Lys-Phe-Leu-OH, were identified by a combination of analytical methods, and their structure confirmed by synthesis. Most impurities originated from side-reactions involving the aspartyl residue (cyclization, beta-aspartyl formation and cleavage). Based on this knowledge, modifications were introduced into the work up and the purification procedure which resulted in a very pure final product (> 99% by RP-HPLC).

Case studies of the solid-phase synthesis of some 'difficult sequences' using continuous-flow Fmoc-polyamide techniques are presented. Solvent change and peptide side chain and backbone modification procedures recently found to reduce association effects are applied, and the results compared to syntheses under standard conditions.

The 3-nitro-2-pyridinesulphenyl (Npys) moiety is finding increasing utility as a protecting-activating group for cysteine, particularly in the synthesis of cyclic and unsymmetrical disulfides using the Boc strategy. This chemistry has been extended to peptides assembled by the Fmoc strategy. N-Terminal Cys(Npys) is introduced via Boc-Cys(Npys)-OPfp. Non-N-terminal Cys(Npys) is incorporated by reacting a resin-bound, fully protected Cys(Acm) peptide with NpysCl. This approach has been applied to the synthesis of four disulfide-bridged fragments of omega-conotoxins GVIA and MVIIA.

Fmoc-glutamic acid is converted by thionyl chloride into the dichloride, which spontaneously cyclizes to Fmoc-pyroglutamyl chloride. The latter is stable to water. Pure Fmoc-pyroglutamyl chloride is obtained by washing the reaction mixture with water, which destroys uncyclized dichloride by converting it into the 2-alkoxy-5(4H)-oxazolone that is readily hydrolyzed. Fmoc-pyroglutamic acid and succinimidyl ester are obtained from the chloride by acid hydrolysis and reaction with N-hydroxysuccinimide, respectively.

Bombesin-like pseudopeptides have been synthesized, and certain physicochemical properties and biological activities have been examined. Bombesin and the related peptide litorin were modified at positions 13-14 and 8-9, respectively, with psi[CH2S] and psi[CH2N(CH3)]. [Phe13 psi[CH2S]Leu14]bombesin and [Phe8 psi[CH2S]-Leu9]litorin bound to the murine pancreatic bombesin/gastrin releasing peptide receptor with similar dissociation constants (Kd = 3.9 and 3.4 nM, respectively). Increased potency was achieved by oxidation of the thiomethylene ether to two diastereomeric sulfoxides (isomer I, Kd = 1.6 nM and isomer II, Kd = 0.89 nM. Further oxidation to the sulfone decreased potency ([Phe8 psi[CH2SO2]Leu9]litorin, Kd = 9.9 nM). All five analogs were receptor antagonists as determined by phosphatidylinositol turnover in murine pancreas. In contrast to these peptide backbone substitutions, a psi[CH2N(CH3)] at the 8-9 amide bond position resulted in an agonist. The analogs were compared with those of litorin (Kd = 0.1 nM) and [Leu9]litorin (Kd = 0.17 nM) by CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. The CD spectra demonstrated ordered conformation for all the peptides in TFE. Different conformations corresponding to agonist and antagonist peptides were suggested by CD. Based on the pH-dependence of the fluorescence spectra of the peptides in a zwitterionic detergent, two titratable groups were identified (pKa = 6.3 and 8.5). The lower pKa is found in the agonist analogs but not in the psi [CH2S]-containing antagonist.

Treatment of the peptide-resin Ac-Asn-Ser(Bzl)-Gly-Asp(OFm)-pMeBHA with HF/anisole cleaves the peptide-resin bond and removes the benzyl group, as expected, but also yields an impurity (ca. 25%) in which the benzyl group is linked to the fluorenylmethyl protecting group. Separation of the desired peptide from the impurity can be accomplished by reversed-phase medium-pressure liquid chromatography. The side reaction does not take place when the gamma-carboxyl of aspartic acid is protected with the 2-(4-acetyl-2-nitrophenyl)ethyl group.

In examining the use of D-amino acids in designing specific peptide folding motifs, the tetrapeptide Boc-D-Glu-Ala-Gly-Lys-NHMe 1 and its analog 2 featuring L-Glu were synthesized for a comparison of their solution conformations by NMR spectroscopy. The temperature coefficients of amide proton resonances, NOE data, side-chain CH2 anisotropies and salt titration results suggest a weak type II reverse-turn conformation for peptide 2, and a tandem II' turn-3(10)-helix conformation of appreciable conformational stability for peptide 1 in apolar solvents. The latter is of potential interest as the N-terminal helix cap that could support the design of longer 3(10) helices. Possible origins of appreciable difference in the conformational stabilities of the diastereomers are discussed.

According to the concept presented, esters forming an amide (peptide) bond by the mechanism SN#DN or SN#*DN involving fast decay of the tetrahedral intermediate may behave as 'superactive acylating reagents'. These should render coupling involving less reactive substrates, i.e. sterically hindered or 'difficult coupling sequences', much faster and more uniform than classic active esters. In extremely cases this advantage could be significant, and the calculated increase in time required for 99.9% coupling substrates 6 pKa units less reactive than the standard ones reaches 2,512,000 tau 1/2 units for classic active esters, but only 631 tau 1/2 units for reaction involving 'superactive esters'. The postulated change of mechanism is expected for esters bearing a leaving group which is able to undergo an additional, synchronous, energetically favored process accompanying its departure, as has been observed in the case of triazine esters. Some advantages of triazine superactive esters in the condensation of sterically hindered substrates are demonstrated.

General procedures are presented for the site-specific pegylation of peptides at the NH2-terminus, side-chain positions (Lys or Asp/Glu) or COOH-terminus using solid-phase Fmoc/tBu methodologies. A model tridecapeptide fragment of interleukin-2, IL-2(44-56)-NH2, was chosen for this study since it possesses several trifunctional amino acids which serve as potential sites for pegylation. The pegylation reagents were designed to contain either Nle or Orn, which served as diagnostic amino acids for confirming the presence of 1 PEG unit per mole of peptide. NH2-Terminal pegylation was carried out by coupling PEG-CH2CO-Nle-OH to the free NH2-terminus of the peptide-resin. Side-chain pegylation of Lys or Asp was achieved by one of two pathways. Direct side-chain pegylation was accomplished by coupling with Fmoc-Lys(PEG-CH2CO-Nle)-OH or Fmoc-Asp(Nle-NH-CH2CH2-PEG)-OH, followed by solid-phase assemblage of the pegylated peptide-resin and TFA cleavage. Alternatively, allylic protective groups were introduced via Fmoc-Lys(Alloc)-OH or Fmoc-Asp(O-Allyl)-OH, and selectively removed by palladium-catalyzed deprotection after assemblage of the peptide-resin. Solid-phase pegylation of the side-chain of Lys or Asp was then carried out in the final stage with PEG-CH2CO-Nle-OH or H-Nle-NH-(CH2)2-PEG, respectively. COOH-Terminal pegylation was achieved through the initial attachment of Fmoc-Orn(PEG-CH2CO)-OH to the solid support, followed by solid-phase peptide synthesis using the Fmoc/tBu strategy. The pegylated peptides were purified by dialysis and preparative HPLC and were fully characterized by analytical HPLC, amino acid analysis, 1H-NMR spectroscopy and laser desorption mass spectrometry.

L-Histidine acetate crystallizes in two forms: (I) orthorhombic; P2(1)2(1)2(1); a = 5.027, b = 11.126, c = 17.473 A; Z = 4; (II) monoclinic; C2; a = 15.649, b = 9.276, c = 8.566 A; beta = 94.65 degrees; Z = 4. The structures were solved by direct methods and refined to R-values of 0.056 and 0.089 for 1131 and 1330 observed reflections, respectively. The conformations of the histidine molecule in the two forms are different. However, both are such that they facilitate the occurrence of a specific interaction of the histidine molecule with a carboxylate group. The basic elements of aggregation are hydrogen-bonded histidine ribbons, but they are of different types in the two structures. The ribbons are interconnected by acetate ions to form the crystals. The structures contain two characteristic interaction patterns involving amino and carboxylate groups, one of which is observed for the first time. The two water molecules in form II and their symmetry equivalents form an uninterrupted hydrogen-bonded chain running through the crystal. They also present an interesting case of disorder in hydrogen bonds. A comparative study involving amino acid complexes of acetic acid shows that the presence of acetate ion could lead to new aggregation patterns, specific interactions and characteristic interaction patterns with varying degrees of similarity with those observed in other structures containing amino acids.