Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F Albericio.
The guanidine moiety is an important motif present in many biologically active compounds. Fully substituted guanidines are of key importance for the development of bioactive molecules. The present paper reports on an efficient procedure for the direct solid-phase conversion of amines to fully substituted guanidines under very mild conditions.
[reaction: see text] A new strategy for SPPS in the reverse direction based on the use of 2-Cl-trityl resin, an allyl ester as the temporary protecting group, and Cu(OBt)(2)/DIPCDI or HATU/DIEA as the coupling method is described. These conditions ensure good yields with minimal racemization of the C-terminal residue.
For the controlled synthesis of even the simplest dipeptide, the N(alpha)-amino group of one of the amino acids and the C-terminal carboxyl group of the other should both be blocked with suitable protecting groups. Formation of the desired amide bond can now occur upon activation of the free carboxyl group. After coupling, peptide synthesis can be continued by removal of either of the two protecting groups and coupling with the free C-terminus or N(alpha)-amino group of another protected amino acid. When three functional amino acids are present in the sequence, the side chain of these residues also has to be protected. It is important that there is a high degree of compatibility between the different types of protecting groups such that one type may be removed selectively in the presence of the others. At the end of the synthesis, the protecting groups must be removed to give the desired peptide. Thus, it is clear that the protection scheme adopted is of the utmost importance and makes the difference between success and failure in a given synthesis. Since R. B. Merrifield introduced the solid-phase strategy for the synthesis of peptides, this prerequisite has been readily accepted. This strategy is usually carried out using two main protection schemes: the tert-butoxycarbonyl/benzyl and the 9-flourenylmethoxycarbonyl/tert-butyl methods. However, for the solid-phase preparation of complex or fragile peptides, as well as for the construction of libraries of peptides or small molecules using a combinatorial approach, a range of other protecting groups is also needed. This review summarizes other protecting groups for both the N(alpha)-amino and C-terminal carboxyl functions.
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Synthesis of chemokines via stepwise SPPS approaches has been shown to be a challenge. Herein, a complete study of different coupling methods, solvents and temperature combined with a continuous-flow synthesizer equipped with feedback monitoring was carried out. The results from this study indicate that this family of molecules can be prepared using an Fmoc/Bu(t) chemical approach and provide a general method to apply for the elongation of other difficult sequences.
The 2-(4-nitrophenylsulfonyl)ethoxycarbonyl (Nsc) group is an alternative to Fmoc for Nalpha-protection in solid-phase peptide synthesis. Nsc-amino acids may be particularly suitable for automatic synthesizers, in which the amino acids are stored in solution, and the incorporation of residues prone to racemization such as Cys and His. Owing to the hydrophilicity of the Nsc group, these derivatives are useful for the preparation of protected peptides in convergent solid-phase peptide synthesis strategies.
DKP formation is a serious side reaction during the solid-phase synthesis of peptide acids containing either Pro or Gly at the C-terminus. This side reaction not only leads to a lower overall yield, but also to the presence in the reaction crude of several deletion peptides lacking the first amino acids. For the preparation of protected peptides using the Fmoc/tBu strategy, the use of a ClTrt-Cl-resin with a limited incorporation of the C-terminal amino acid is the method of choice. The use of resins with higher loading levels leads to more impure peptide crudes. The use of HPLC-ESMS is a useful method for analysing complex samples, such as those formed when C-terminal Pro peptides are prepared by non-optimized solid-phase strategies.
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The choice of a polymeric support is a key factor for the success of solid-phase methods for syntheses of organic compounds and biomolecules such as peptides and oligonucleotides. Classical Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), performed on low cross-linked hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) beads, sometimes suffers from sequence-dependent coupling difficulties. The concept of incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) into supports for solid-phase synthesis represents a successful approach to alleviating such problems. Previous reports from our laboratories have shown the advantages of "low-load" PEG-PS (0.15-0.25 mmol/g) for SPPS. Herein, we demonstrate that the beneficial aspects of the PEG-PS concept can be extended with resins that have higher loadings (0.3-0.5 mmol/g).
The Glu1-Val79 N-terminal peptide (NTP) domain of human plasminogen (Pgn) is followed by a tandem array of five kringle (K) structures of approximately 9 kDa each. K1, K2, K4, and K5 contain each a lysine-binding site (LBS). Pgn was cleaved with CNBr and the Glul-HSer57 N-terminal fragment (CB-NTP) isolated. In addition, the Ile27-Ile56 peptide (L-NTP) that spans the doubly S-S bridged loop segment of NTP was synthesized. Pgn kringles were generated either by proteolytic fragmentation of Pgn (K4, K5) or via recombinant gene expression (rK1, rK2, and rK3). Interactions of CB-NTP with each of the Pgn kringles were monitored by 1H-NMR at 500 MHz and values for the equilibrium association constants (Ka) determined: rK1, Ka approximately 4.6 mM(-1); rK2, Ka approximately 3.3 mM(-1); K4, Ka approximately 6.2 mM-'; K5, K, 2.3 mM(-1). Thus, the lysine-binding kringles interact with CB-NTP more strongly than with Nalpha-acetyl-L-lysine methyl ester (Ka < 0.6 mM(-l), which reveals specificity for the NTP. In contrast, CB-NTP does not measurably interact with rK3. which is devoid of a LBS. CB-NTP and L-NTP 1H-NMR spectra were assigned and interproton distances estimated from 1H-1H Overhauser (NOESY) experiments. Structures of L-NTP and the Glul-Ile27 segment of CB-NTP were computed via restrained dynamic simulated annealing/energy minimization (SA/EM) protocols. Conformational models of CB-NTP were generated by joining the two (sub)structures followed by a round of constrained SA/EM. Helical turns are indicated for segments 6-9, 12-16, 28-30, and 45-48. Within the Cys34-Cys42 loop of L-NTP, the structure of the Glu-Glu-Asp-Glu-Glu39 segment appears to be relatively less defined, as is the case for the stretch containing Lys5O within the Cys42-Cys54 segment, consistent with the latter possibly interacting with kringle domains in intact Glul-Pgn. Overall, the CB-NTP and L-NTP fragments are of low regular secondary structure content-as indicated by UV-CD spectra- and exhibit fast amide 1H-2H exchange in 2H2O, suggestive of high flexibility.
Interactions between the kringle 4 (K4) domain of human plasminogen (Pgn) and segments of the N-terminal Glu1-Lys77 peptide (NTP) have been investigated via 1H-NMR at 500 MHz. NTP peptide stretches devoid of Lys residues but carrying an internal Arg residue show negligible affinity toward K4 (equilibrium association constant Ka < 0.05 mM(-1)). In contrast, while most fragments containing an internal Lys residue exhibit affinities comparable to that shown by the blocked Lys derivative Nalpha-acetyl-L-lysine-methyl ester (Ka approximately 0.2 mM(-1), peptides encompassing Lys50O consistently show higher Ka values. Among the investigated linear peptides, Nalpha-acetyl-Ala-Phe-Tyr-His-Ser-Ser-Lys5O-Glu-Gln-NH2 (AcAFYHSK5OEQ-NH2) exhibits the strongest interaction with K4 (Ka approximately 1.4 mM(-1)), followed by AcYHSK50EQ-NH2 (Ka approximately 0.9 mM(-1)). Relative to the wild-type sequence, mutated hexapeptides exhibit lesser affinity for K4. When a Lys50 --> Ser mutation was introduced (==> AcYHSS50EQ-NH2), binding was abolished. The Ile27-lle56 construct (L-NTP) contains the Lys50 site within a loop constrained by two cystine bridges. The propensity of recombinant Pgn K1 (rK1) and K2 (rK2) modules, and of Pgn fragments encompassing the intact K4 and K5 domains, for binding L-NTP, was investigated. We find that L-NTP interacts with rK1, rK2, K4, and K5-all lysine-binding kringles-in a fashion that closely mimics what has been observed for the Glul-HSer57 N-terminal fragment of Pgn (CB-NTP). Thus, both the constellation of kringle lysine binding site (LBS) aromatic residues that are perturbed upon complexation of L-NTP and magnitudes of kringle-L-NTP binding affinities (rK1, Ka approximately 4.3 mM(-1); rK2, Ka approximately 3.7 mM(-1; K4, Ka approximately 6.4 mM(1); and K5, Ka approximately 2.1 mM(-1)) are essentially the same as for the corresponding kringle-CB-NTP pairs. Molecular modeling studies suggest that the Glu39-Lys50 stretch in NTP generates an area that complements, both topologically and electrostatically, the solvent-exposed kringle LBS surface.
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The 34-residue peptide CTVAEIYLGNLAGADLILASGLPFWAITIANNFD (TM-34), corresponding to the 64-97 sequence of the rat bradykinin, receptor, was selected as a model of hydrophobic transmembrane peptide segment for systematic study of synthesis and purification strategies. Application of conventional Boc/Bzl chemistry resulted in very low yield of the synthesis (around 4%) when DMF was used as the solvent for coupling reactions. As shorter resin-bound fragments of TM-34 showed improved swelling in 80% NMP/DMSO, the synthesis was repeated in this mixed solvent and the yield increased to 12%. A comparative synthesis using optimized Fmoc chemistry and Fmoc-(FmocHmb) derivatives of Ala and Leu to prevent aggregation did not provide any detectable TM-34. Taken together, these results illustrate the synthetic problems associated with hydrophobic sequences, almost regardless of the chemistry used. As expected, the hydrophobicity of TM-34 and of most of its minor fragments made them scarcely soluble in common solvents. Purification could be achieved by loading the crude materials dissolved in 90% AcOH onto a C4 HPLC column and eluting with a TFA/MeCN linear gradient. CD studies of the TM-34 and of the shorter fragment with the 74-97 sequence (TM-24) showed a higher percentage of alpha-helix structure for the latter. This suggests that the shorter sequence may better represent the correct transmembrane region of the second helix of the rat bradykinin receptor.
An invariant chain peptide (murine Ii76-92; Ii-Key) is known to produce a 10 to 50 times baseline enhancement of the presentation of specific antigenic peptides to murine T cell hybridomas by cell surface MHC class II molecules. In order to define structure-activity relationships in Ii-key, homologs were synthesized with the following systematic variations: 1) N- and C-terminal truncations, 2) N-terminal acetylation and C-terminal amidation, 3) substitutions with 13 natural amino acids in each position of the shortest, fully active peptide, and then with an additional 12 nonnatural amino acids at certain 'pharmacophore' positions, 4) substitutions with D-amino acids and N-methyl-leucine, and 5) cyclical forms. More than 160 homologs were tested for effects on antigen presentation by the murine MHC class II alleles: A(d), Ak, E(d), or Ek. For some compounds, allele specificity between E(d) and Ek exceeded 1:20. D-Amino acid and/or N-methyl-leucine substitutions were accepted at some residue positions, leading to peptides with relatively long half-lives in mouse serum and low toxicities in mice. An Ii-Key homolog inhibited in vitro presentation of an internally processed hen egg lysozyme determinant to a specific T hybridoma. The best compounds can be tested in vivo for therapeutic applications: 1) immunosuppression upon release of antigenic peptide, and 2) vaccination or immunomodulation upon co-administration of a second antigenic peptide.
A novel approach for the preparation of oligonucleotides carrying amino groups at the 3'-end is described. Several CPG supports having aminoalkyl groups and 3'-amino-2',3'-dideoxynucleosides linked through base-labile carbamate linkages such as 2-(2-nitrophenyl)ethoxycarbonyl and fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl were prepared using two different strategies. These supports are compatible to the standard solid phase phosphite-triester methodology and yield oligonucleotides containing amino groups at the 3'-end. Several properties of the 3'-amino oligonucleotides, such as nuclease resistance, hybridization, and preparation of oligonucleotide conjugates are discussed.
The purification of a range of protected peptide segments has been carried out using modified reversed-phase chromatographic techniques in which DMF was added to the water and acetonitrile mixtures used as eluents. The purity of the recovered peptides was excellent and recoveries were high in all cases, even for longer hydrophobic segments. In several cases purifications were carried out on the hundreds of milligrams scale. For protected peptide segments containing Met, protection as the sulfoxide avoids its unwanted alkylation and oxidation, and the increased overall polarity can be useful in the purification of protected peptides incorporating this residue.