Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis of Fusukang for AIDS

A 36-residue peptide is designed to cure acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS), and is synthesized by the manual solid phase peptide synthesis technique. Different reaction conditions of the synthesis process were discussed. Stirring efficiency of mechanics and nitrogen was compared. The mechanical method displays a predominant performance. Although the coupling efficiencies of diisopropylcarbodiimide(DIC) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC) are virtually identical, DIC offers several advantages over DCC in practice due to different physical characters. Wash conditions after deprotection and coupling were investigated to monitor washing efficiency. 0.369 2 g crude peptide was obtained.

Study on Chemical Synthesis and Insecticidal Activity of Peptideκ-CTx-btg02

[Objectives]This study was conducted to investigate the chemical synthesis of peptideκ-CTx-btg02.[Methods]Linear peptideκ-CTx-btg02 was synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis(SPPS).After oxidation and folding of the linear peptide,mass spectrometry identification and high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)purification were performed.Then,the MTT method and insect injection method were applied to study its insecticidal activity.[Results]The peptideκ-CTx-btg02 was successfully synthesized by the SPPS method,and identified for the formation of disulfide bonds by mass spectrometry identification,and the purity after HPLC separation was greater than 95%.The MTT experiment showed that the peptideκ-CTx-btg02 could inhibit the growth of insect cells sf9,with a half effective dose of 0.13 nM.The insect injection experiment showed that the peptideκ-CTx-btg02 could effectively kill Tenebrio molitor,with a half lethal dose of 15.6 nM.The results of the electrophysiological experiment showed that 10μM peptideκ-CTx-btg02 had no blocking activity on murine acetylcholineα2β3 andα3β4.Therefore,the peptideκ-CTx-btg02 had a good inhibitory effect on the growth of insect cells,highly effective insecticidal activity and weak mammalian toxicity.[Conclusions]This study lays a foundation for the development of new,safe and efficient peptide biological insecticides.

Preparation and Insecticidal Activity of Sea Anemone Peptide AP-GI from Aiptasia pallida

[Objectives] This study was conducted to synthesize sea anemone peptide Ap-GI and investigate its insecticidal activity. [Methods] The linear peptide Ap-GI was synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis(SPPS), and the linear peptide was subjected to the two-step oxidative folding, mass spectrometry identification and high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) purification. Then, the MTT method and insect injection method were used to study its insecticidal activity. [Results] The synthesized sea anemone peptide had a purity of 95%. The test results of the MTT method showed that the peptide Ap-GI had the activity of inhibiting the growth of insect cells sf9 with the median effective dose of 0.7 nM;and the test results of the injection method on yellow mealworms showed that the peptide Ap-GI had high insecticidal activity, and the median lethal dose was 16.9 nM. [Conclusions] The sea anemone peptide Ap-GI from Aiptasia pallida has a good inhibitory effect on the growth of insect cells and high-efficiency insecticidal activity, which can lay a foundation for the development of new, safe and efficient peptide biological insecticides.

Chemical synthesis and structural analysis of guanylate cyclase C agonist linaclotide

Guanylate cyclase C(GC-C) is an important receptor protein expressed by intestinal epithelial cells, and its dysregulation leads to severe intestinal diseases. Linaclotide is a 14-amino acid peptide approved by the FDA for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation(IBS-C), which activates guanylate cyclase C to accelerate intestinal transit. Drug molecule design based on structural information plays a crucial role and the activity of linaclotide still need to improve, while the structure of linaclotide remains unknown. In this work, linaclotide and its D-enantiomer were obtained through Fmoc solid phase peptide synthesis method and co-crystalized through racemic crystallization. The crystal structure showed that linaclotide has a tight, three-beta turns structure immobilized by three pairs of disulfide bonds.

Synthetic studies toward human interleukin-5

Interleukin 5(IL-5) is a human cytokine that regulates eosinophil growth and activation, and it plays essential roles in diseases associated with increased level of eosinophils such as asthma. Many studies have been conducted on this important glycoprotein, but all of them utilized recombinantly expressed samples. Here we describe our attempted chemical synthesis of IL-5, using protocols of Fmoc-SPPS and peptidyl hydrazide-based native chemical ligation, where the disulfide-reduced form of IL-5 is assembled from three peptide segments. Reconstitution of the protein under different folding conditions has also been investigated.