Cyclic RGD Peptides Containing Azabicycloalkane Reverse‐Turn Mimics

The Fmoc‐protected lactams 3 and 4 were used to prepare cyclo(Arg‐Gly‐Asp‐lactam) 1 and cyclo(Arg‐Gly‐Asp‐Phe‐lactam) 2 , which contain the Arg‐Gly‐Asp (RGD) recognition motif. Their solid‐phase synthesis, conformational analysis, and binding to purified α_Vβ₃ and α_Vβ₅ integrins are reported. Compound 1 was found to act as an active and selective inhibitor of the α_Vβ₅ integrin.     

Synthesis of a Novel Tricyclic Dipeptide Template and Its Incorporation into a Cyclic Peptide Mimetic Containing an NPNA Motif

A novel tricyclic dipeptide template, formally derived by coupling (2S,4S)-4-aminoproline (Pro(NH₂)) and (S)-2-(carboxymethyl)proline (Pro(CH₂COOH)) as a diketopiperazine, has been synthesized in a form suitable for solid-phase peptide synthesis using Fmoc chemistry. This template was incorporated into the cyclic molecule cyclo(-Ala¹-Asn²-Pro³-Asn⁴-Ala⁵-Ala⁶-Temp-) (Temp = template), whose conformation in H₂O was studied by NMR methods. Average solution structures derived by restrained simulated annealing point to a highly populated βI-turn within the Asn-Pro-Asn-Ala motif and also indicate which conformations are likely to be preferred by the template.     

Application and Structural Analysis of Triazole-Bridged Disulfide Mimetics in Cyclic Peptides

Ruthenium-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (RuAAC) provides access to 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole motifs in peptide engineering applications. However, investigation of this motif as a disulfide mimetic in cyclic peptides has been limited, and the structural consequences remain to be studied. We report synthetic strategies to install various triazole linkages into cyclic peptides through backbone cyclisation and RuAAC cross-linking reactions. These linkages were evaluated in four serine protease inhibitors based on sunflower trypsin inhibitor-1. NMR and X-ray crystallography revealed exceptional consensus of bridging distance and backbone conformations (RMSD<0.5 Å) of the triazole linkages compared to the parent disulfide molecules. The triazole-bridged peptides also displayed superior half-lives in liver S9 stability assays compared to disulfide-bridged peptides. This work establishes a foundation for the application of 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles as disulfide mimetics.     

Application and Structural Analysis of Triazole‐Bridged Disulfide Mimetics in Cyclic Peptides

Ruthenium‐catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (RuAAC) provides access to 1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazole motifs in peptide engineering applications. However, investigation of this motif as a disulfide mimetic in cyclic peptides has been limited, and the structural consequences remain to be studied. We report synthetic strategies to install various triazole linkages into cyclic peptides through backbone cyclisation and RuAAC cross‐linking reactions. These linkages were evaluated in four serine protease inhibitors based on sunflower trypsin inhibitor‐1. NMR and X‐ray crystallography revealed exceptional consensus of bridging distance and backbone conformations (RMSD<0.5 Å) of the triazole linkages compared to the parent disulfide molecules. The triazole‐bridged peptides also displayed superior half‐lives in liver S9 stability assays compared to disulfide‐bridged peptides. This work establishes a foundation for the application of 1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazoles as disulfide mimetics.     

A Tricyclic Template Derived from (2S,4R)-4-Hydroxyproline for the Synthesis of Protein Loop Mimetics

A tricyclic diketopiperazine, formally derived by coupling (2S,4S)-4-aminoproline (Pro(NH₂)) and (2S,4R)-4-(carboxymethyl)proline (Pro(CH₂COOH)), is synthesized starting from readily available (2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline. The resulting tricyclic template has carboxy and amino groups to which a peptide chain may be attached. The Fmoc-protected template 5 is incorporated into the cyclic molecule cyclo(-Ala¹-Asn²-Pro³-Asn⁴-Ala⁵-) ( 6 ) where Pro(NH₂)⁷ = Pro(CH₂COOH)⁸ represents the template, using solid-phase peptide synthesis with cyclization in solution. The molecule is shown by NMR and dynamic simulated annealing methods to adopt a preferred conformation in aqueous solution, which includes an extended backbone at the residues Asn²-Pro³-Asn⁴, and a type-Iβ-turn at . These studies show that this novel template may be used in the synthesis of cyclic peptide and protein mimetics having defined secondary structure in aqueous environments.     

Cyclic Peptides for the Treatment of Cancers: A Review

Cyclic peptides have been widely reported to have therapeutic abilities in the treatment of cancer. This has been proven through in vitro and in vivo studies against breast, lung, liver, colon, and prostate cancers, among others. The multitude of data available in the literature supports the potential of cyclic peptides as anticancer agents. This review summarizes the findings from previously reported studies and discusses the different cyclic peptide compounds, the sources, and their modes of action as anticancer agents. The prospects and future of cyclic peptides will also be described to give an overview on the direction of cyclic peptide development for clinical applications.     

Rolling Loop Scan: An Approach Featuring Ring-Closing Metathesis for Generating Libraries of Peptides with Molecular Shapes Mimicking Bioactive Conformations or Local Folding of Peptides and Proteins

Libraries of loop-containing peptides (such as the one shown schematically) can be prepared from bis-N-alkylated peptides by ring-closing metathesis. In a general solid-phase procedure the peptides are accessible by site-specific N-alkylation. Since the amino acid side chains are not involved in cyclization, they remain available for interaction with, for example, a receptor.     

A Xyloside-Based Ligand to Stabilize Gold Nanoparticles: Preparation and Application

Water-soluble and air-stable gold nanoparticles stabilized by a xyloside-based ligand containing a pyridine ring-functionalized 1,2,3-triazole backbone were prepared in the presence of a reducing agent. During their preparation, UV-vis and NMR spectroscopic techniques were used to study the interaction between the xyloside ligand and Au(III) ions. These AuNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, TEM and DLS and showed a small size (average diameter<10 nm determined by TEM). Their catalytic activity was tested in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in water.     

Quantum Mechanical Study of the Syn and Anti Conformations of Solvated Cyclic GMP

Self-consistent Reaction Field (SCRF) computational methods have been applied to guanosine 3:5-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) to determine the geometries and energetics of the syn and anti conformations of this cyclic nucleotide in aqueous solution. The syn conformation of cGMP has been predicted to be more stable in the gas phase due to an internal hydrogen bond. The syn conformation is observed in the crystal structure of the sodium tetrahydrate salt, although a bridging water molecule is present in lieu of the internal hydrogen bond. In the gas phase, we find from Hartree–Fock/6-31+G(d) optimizations that the syn conformation is more stable than the anti by about 4 kcal/mol. However, we report here that the anti conformation is more stable in aqueous solution, according to estimates based upon results from both the Onsager model and the Isodensity Polarized Continuum Method (IPCM). Our best estimate from single-point IPCM B3LYP/6-31+G(d) calculations has the anti conformation 19 kcal/mol lower in energy. For comparison purposes, we also present SCRF results for syn and anti adenosine 3:5-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP). For cAMP, we estimate the anti conformation to be more stable than the syn by about 6 kcal/mol. We suggest that the relative stability of the anti conformation of cGMP be considered in studies, such as, enzyme docking.     

某些环肽及其相应线型肽在不同溶剂中构象的CD谱研究

We used CD spectroscopy to study the conformations of three cyclic peptides (CP10E: cyclo[Glu(OBz1)-Pro-Gly-Glu(OBzl)-Gly]2, CP10K: cyclo[Lys(Z)-Pro-Gly-Lys(Z)-Gly]2, CP12K: cyclo[Phe-Lys(Z)-Pro-Gly-Lys(Z)-Gly]2 and their correspondent linear peptides (LP10E: Boc-[Glu(OBzl)-Pro-Gly-Glu(OBzl)-Gly]2-OPac, LP10K: Boc-[Lys(Z)-Pro-Lys(Z)-Pro]2-OMe, LP 12K: Bao- [-Lys(Z)-Pro-Gly-Lys(Z)-Gly]2- OMe) in three solvents of different polarity (chloroform, acetonitrile, 2,2,2-triliuroethanol), and it was found that all of linear and cyclicpeptides exists asγ-turn conformation in chloroform, however, in TFE＆ CH3CN solutions, the three linear peptides are inβ Ⅱ-turn conformations. CP10E isβI-turn conformation, CP10K ＆CP12K exists in more than one types of turn conformations. On the basis of our experiments, it was concluded: 1) In the presence of conformational constrained amino acids short linear peptides form obvious secondary structure; 2)The solvent polarity has influence on the peptide conformation and this influence on linear peptides is greater than that on cyclic peptides; 3)The backbone of cyclic peptide has constraint effect on its conformation and makes the secondary structure of cyclic peptide different from that of its relative linear peptide. This information might give some cules in the design of bioactive peptides with different receptor selectivity.     

抗癌活性天然产物Cryptophycins的研究进展

总结了具有强抗癌活性的天然产物cryptophycins及其结构类似物的研究进展, 内容包括cryptophycin的合成、 活性-结构关系规律以及结构类似物的研究情况.     

Cyclic and Lasso Peptides: Sequence Determination,Topology Analysis,and Rotaxane Formation

A broadly applicable chemical cleavage methodology to facilitate MS/MS sequencing was developed for macrocyclic and lasso peptides, which hold promise as exciting new therapeutics. Existing methods such as Edman degradation, CNBr cleavage, and enzymatic digestion are either limited in scope or completely fail in cleavage of constrained nonribosomal peptides. Importantly, the new method was utilized for synthesizing a unique peptide‐based rotaxane (both cyclic and threaded) from the lasso peptide, benenodin‐1 ΔC5.