Solid-phase synthesis of O-linked glycopeptide analogues of enkephalin

The synthesis of 18 N-alpha-FMOC-amino acid glycosides for solid-phase glycopeptide assembly is reported. The glycosides were synthesized either from the corresponding O'Donnell Schiff bases or from N-alpha-FMOC-amino protected serine or threonine and the appropriate glycosyl bromide using Hanessian's modification of the Koenigs-Knorr reaction. Reaction rates of D-glycosyl bromides (e.g., acetobromoglucose) with the L- and D-forms of serine and threonine are distinctly different and can be rationalized in terms of the steric interactions within the two types of diastereomeric transition states for the D/L and D/D reactant pairs. The N-alpha-FMOC-protected glycosides [monosaccharides Xyl, Glc, Gal, Man, GlcNAc, and GalNAc; disaccharides Gal-beta(1-4)-Glc (lactose), Glc-beta(1-4)-Glc (cellobiose), and Gal-alpha(1-6)-Glc (melibiose)] were incorporated into 22 enkephalin glycopeptide analogues. These peptide opiates bearing the pharmacophore H-Tyr-c[DCys-Gly-Phe-DCys]- were designed to probe the significance of the glycoside moiety and the carbohydrate-peptide linkage region in blood-brain barrier (BBB) transport, opiate receptor binding, and analgesia.     

Solid-phase synthesis of core 2 O-linked glycopeptide and its enzymatic sialylation

The core 2-type tetrasaccharide building blocks (1a/1b) for solid-phase synthesis of glycopeptide were synthesized via stereoselective glycosylation of the disaccharyl Ser/Thr (3a/3b) with a glycosyl fluoride (2) carrying the 2-trichloroacetamido group that was readily converted into a 2-acetamido group by reduction. A segment of glycoprotein leukosialin (215-224) was synthesized by the solid-phase protocol, the building block (1b) being utilized. Cleavage of the synthetic glycopeptide from resin was effected with reagent K and subsequent treatment of the product with a cocktail for the ‘low-acidity TfOH’ facilitated complete removal of the benzyl groups with minimum loss of glycosidic linkages. To the deprotected glycopeptide (21), were enzymatically introduced N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid) residues in remarkably high efficiency by using the specific sialyltransferases.     

Chemoselective elaboration of O-linked glycopeptide mimetics by alkylation of 3-thioGalNAc.

A critical branch point in mucin-type oligosaccharides is the beta 1-->3 glycosidic linkage to the core alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residue. We report here a strategy for the synthesis of O-linked glycopeptide analogues that replaces this linkage with a thioether amenable to construction by chemoselective ligation. The key building block was a 2-azido-3-thiogalactose-Thr analogue that was incorporated into a peptide by fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-based solid-phase peptide synthesis. Higher order oligosaccharides were readily generated by alkylation of the corresponding 3-thioGalNAc with N-bromoacetamido sugars. The rapid assembly of "core 1"and "core 3" O-linked glycopeptide mimetics was accomplished in this fashion.     

Synthesis of a Gln-Phe hydroxy-ethylene dipeptide isostere

[structure: see text] The protected Gln-Phe hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere 1 was synthesized as a precursor for preparation of potential inhibitors of Botulinum neurotoxin B metalloprotease. The method allows for the synthesis of additional hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres such as 2 with functionalized P1 side chains. The isosteres prepared were coupled with a dipeptide to produce protected pseudotetrapeptide derivatives.     

Synthesis of an S-linked glycopeptide analog derived from human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein

Direct base catalyzed S-glycosylation of a cysteine and a homocysteine containing peptide with O-acetyl protected bromides in DMF-water solution furnished two glycopeptide fragments. The two glycopeptide fragments were linked to the target glycopeptide with two S-glycosyl residues mimicking a part of Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein.     

Synthesis of a Val-Pro diaminodiol dipeptide isostere by epoxyamine cyclization

[reaction: see text] The stereoselective synthesis of a novel proline-containing dipeptide isostere is described. Starting from l-valine, three new contiguous stereocenters are generated by asymmetric induction and epoxide chemistry, while the pyrrolidine ring of proline is introduced in the final step via intramolecular ring opening of the amino acid derived epoxyamine. Proline-containing peptidomimetics are potentially attractive as selective inhibitors of proline-specific enzymes, such as PPIases and retroviral proteases, and as analogues of bioactive peptides.     

Synthesis of the pro-gly dipeptide alkene isostere using olefin cross-metathesis

An approach to the synthesis of dipeptide olefin isosteres using intermolecular olefin cross-metathesis is presented. In particular, a synthesis of the Pro-Gly isostere (1) is reported. Conversion of N-BOC-proline into the corresponding vinyl-substituted carbamate provides the N-terminal cross-metathesis partner (2). Methyl 3-butenoate (3) is employed as the C-terminal component. Treatment of the two partners in an optimized molar ratio affords the cross product 1 (83% yield). Three other examples are demonstrated to evaluate the potential of the approach.     

Synthesis of a tripeptide derivative containing the gln-arg hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere

[structure: see text] The protected hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere of Gln-Arg and the tripeptide derivative 1 were synthesized as components of potential peptidase inhibitors.     

Synthesis of a tripeptide derivative containing the Phe-Arg hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere

The protected hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere of Phe-Arg and the tripeptide derivative 1 were synthesized as components of potential peptidase inhibitors. Key to the success of these syntheses is selective rhodium-catalyzed hydroboration in the presence of a readily reduced lactone. A convenient one-pot conversion of azides to diprotected guanidines was developed on the basis of the Staudinger reaction.     

Synthesis of glycopeptide dendrimer by a convergent method

Glycopeptide thioester comprising the sequence of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (emmprin) (34-58) was prepared and condensed with a dendrimer core having eight amino groups by the thioester method. The desired product, a glycopeptide dendrimer carrying an N-linked core pentasaccharide of about 30 kDa, was successfully isolated by preparative electrophoresis and characterized by mass analysis.     

Synthesis and evaluation of carboxymethyl chitosan for glycopeptide enrichment

Glycans are known to be involved in a variety of biological processes throughout human physiology. Mass spectrometry has demonstrated itself as powerful analytical tool for quantitative and structural characterization of glycans. Studying these molecules at the glycopeptide level however, offers distinct advantages, namely the ability to characterize both the glycan and peptide fragments simultaneously, and moreover the ability to assign site specific heterogeneity. In light of this, peptides often dominate the spectrum and hinder the ionization efficiency of glycopeptides. For this reason, enrichment protocols prior to downstream MS analysis need to be developed. Here, we discuss the synthesis and use of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCH) to enrich glycopeptides from a 12 protein mixture for MS analysis. This protocol was compared to a commercially available glycopeptide enrichment kit offered by EMD Millipore through the use of tandem mass tags (TMT) for relative quantification. Using this approach, we identified 98 unique N-linked glycopeptides and observed, that CMCH was able to enrich more sialylation than the commercial kit. In addition, we observed a trend based on TMT reporter ratios with respect to increasing sialylation. This corroborated that this stationary phase was exhibiting a mixed-mode enrichment through both hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and weak anion exchange (WAX) principles.     

Synthesis of the pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine C-nucleoside isostere of inosine

The synthesis of “9-deazainosine,” a new C-nucleoside analog of inosine and of formycin B is described. It involves conversion of a ribosylated 3-amino-2-carboalkoxypyrrole intermediate to the desired pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine system.     

Synthesis of “9-deazaadenosine”; A new cytotoxic C-nucleoside isostere of adenosine

The synthesis of 7-(β-$\text{D}$-ribofuranosyl)-4-amino-5H-pyrrolo[3,2-$\text{d}$]pyrimidine (9-deazaadenosine) $\text{9}$ is described. It involves base-catalyzed cyclization of N-carboethoxyenamine $\text{4}$ to give β- and α-ribosylated 3-amino-2-cyanopyrroles $\text{6}$ and $\text{7}$, respectively, followed by a one-step conversion to the desired pyrrolo[3,2-$\text{d}$]pyrimidine system.     

Synthesis of N4-(5-methoxy-7-benzofuranyl)-1,4-pentanediamine,an oxygen isostere of primaquine

N⁴-(5-Methoxy-7-benzofuranyl)-1,4-pentanediamine, an oxygen isostere of primaquine was synthesized and found devoid of antimalarial activity.     

Synthesis of the bacteriocin glycopeptide sublancin 168 and S-glycosylated variants

The synthesis of sublancin 168, a unique S-glucosylated bacteriocin antibiotic, is described. The natural product and two S-glycosylated variants were successfully prepared via native chemical ligation followed by folding. The synthetic glycopeptides were shown to possess primarily an α-helical secondary structure by CD and NMR studies.     

Synthesis and application in SPPS of a stable amino acid isostere of palmitoyl cysteine

(S)-2-Amino-4-(2-pentadecyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)-butanoic acid, 11, Pdiob, a synthetic analogue C-isostere of palmitoylated cysteine, has been prepared starting from tetrabenzyl glutamic acid. The less hindered benzyl carboxylate ester was transformed into the corresponding β-ketophosphonate and subjected to a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction followed by hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis. This product was used for the preparation on solid phase and under microwave dielectric heating of a highly lipidated peptide that can be considered as an acid stable analogue of the C-terminus of the H-Ras heptapeptides 180-186.     

Conformationally locked isostere of phosphoSer-cis-Pro inhibits Pin1 23-fold better than phosphoSer-trans-Pro isostere

Stereoisomeric cis and trans substrate analogues for Pin1 were designed and synthesized. The central phosphoSer-Pro core of the Pin1 substrate was replaced by cis and trans amide isosteres in Ac-Phe-Phe-pSer-Psi[(Z and E)CH=C]-Pro-Arg-NH(2), 1 and 2, peptidomimetics. They were synthesized on solid phase in 17% yield for the cis analogue 1, and 16% yield for the trans analogue 2. A second trans amide isostere with a C-terminal N-methylamide 3 was synthesized in 7% yield. The protease-coupled Pin1 assay showed that all three compounds inhibited the Pin1 peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) enzymatic activity. The cis isostere 1 was 23 times more potent (K(i) = 1.74 +/- 0.08 muM) than its trans counterpart 2 (K(i) = 40 +/- 2 muM) in competitive inhibition of Pin1. These results suggest that the catalytic site of Pin1 binds cis substrates more tightly in aqueous solution. Antiproliferative activity toward the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line by the cis and trans analogues correlates with Pin1 inhibition results.     

Synthesis of tumor-associated glycopeptide antigens for the development of tumor-selective vaccines

In contrast to normal cells, the glycoprotein profile on epithelial tumor cells is distinctly altered. Due to an incomplete formation of the glycan side-chains resulting from a premature sialylation, additional peptide epitopes become accessible to the immune system in mucin-type glycoproteins on tumor cells. These tumor-associated structure alterations constitute the basis for a selective immunological attack on cancer cells. For the construction of immunostimulating antigens, glycopeptide partial structures from the mucins MUC1 and MUC4 carrying the tumor-associated sialyl-T(N), alpha2,6-sialyl-T and alpha2,3-sialyl-T antigens have been synthesized. Employing different linkers such as the allylic HYCRON or the fluoride-sensitive PTMSEL anchor, the antigenic glycopeptide structures were constructed on the solid phase utilizing pre-assembled glycosyl amino acid building blocks prepared in solution by convergent chemical or chemoenzymatic strategies. The proliferation of cytotoxic T cells has been induced applying a construct composed of a sialyl-T(N) MUC1-glycopeptide conjugated with a tetanus toxin T cell peptide epitope.     

Synthesis of potent beta-secretase inhibitors containing a hydroxyethylamine dipeptide isostere and their structure-activity relationship studies

Several beta-secretase inhibitors were designed based on hydroxyethylamine dipeptide isostere (HDI) structures and were synthesized by a methodology using the aza-Payne rearragement and O,N-acyl transfer reactions to study their structure-activity relationships. Among these pseudopeptides, effective compounds were developed as the first beta-secretase inhibitors containing the HDI transition state mimic with potent enzyme inhibitory activity (IC50 < 100 nM).     

Synthesis of a hydroxyethylene isostere of the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Leu via a convergent acyl-like radical addition strategy

[reaction: see text] A hydroxyethylene isostere of the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Leu, representing an important fragment of a novel cyclic-peptide-based uPA inhibitor, was synthesized in few steps employing as the key step a samarium diiodide promoted coupling of either the 4-thiopyridyl ester of N(alpha)-Fmoc- or N(alpha)-Cbz-protected L-ornithine with the N-acryloyl derivative of L-leucine methyl ester. Epimerization under the coupling conditions at the chiral center in the alpha-position to the ketone was demonstrated not to take place. A stereoselective reduction of the Cbz-protected aminoketone obtained from this radical reaction was promoted by the same single-electron reducing agent in the presence of methanol providing the syn-amino alcohol with a diastereoselectivity of 85:15. With the use of lithium tri-tert-butoxyaluminum hydride in methanol, the corresponding anti-isomer was obtained almost exclusively. Subsequent elaboration of the ornithine moiety in the anti-isomer by introduction of the guanidine group followed by hydrolysis of the C-terminal ester bond and protection of the alcohol as its tert-butyldimethylsilyl ether provided the desired tripeptide mimic. The long reaction times required for the radical addition reactions with N(delta)-Boc-L-ornithine (up to 5 days) led to a short study where a series of 4-thiopyridyl esters of Cbz-protected amino acids were reacted with two acrylates. Whereas N(delta)-Boc-L-ornithine, alanine, phenylalanine, proline, and leucine all provided the aminoketone in 43-79% yield, valine only afforded traces of the coupling product.