Effect of obligatory replacement and conformational restriction on psychotropic activity of thyroliberin analogs

Easy lactamization of Gln(Asn)−Pro−NH₂ with the formation of cyclic dipeptides with the diketopiperazine structure (mimetics of the conformational fragments of linear tripeptides with the X−Protrans-bond) was observed in the synthesis of tripeptide Glp−Gln−Pro−NH₂ modified by the replacement of histidine with obligatory similar glutamine in thyroliberin (Glp−His−Pro−NH₂, TRH) and in the synthesis of its structural analog Asn²]TRH. Ion peaks corresponding to the Glp and Pro amino acid residues were revealed in the mass spectra of the peptides synthesized. The biological properties of the compounds obtained were determined indicating that the obligatory replacement resulted in an increased physiological specificity of Gln²]TRH. The enhanced activity of conformationally restricted cyclic peptides compared to linear ones suggests that the biologically active conformation responsible for the antidepressant activity of linear TRH analogs is the conformation with X−Protrans-bond. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2015–2020, October, 1998.