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.

A NOVEL COUPLING REAGENT(PENTAFLUOROPHENYL DIPHENYLPHOSPHPATE)FOR THE PEPTIDE SYNTHESIS

Pentafluorophenyl diphenylphosphate was found to be a novel convenient coupling reagent for the peptide synthesis with several advantages.Higher yield and lower racemization were found with this reagent than DCCI.

Application of an Organophosphorus Compound-DEPBT as Coupling Reagent in Liquid Phase Peptide Synthesis

DEPBT, a novel coupling reagent containing phosphorus, was used in synthesis of pentapeptide Boc-Ile-Asn-Met-Trp(For)-Gly.OMe by solution method.

An Unusual Acceleration of Amination Reactivity by the Proximal Ester Groups in Catechol Diesters: An Efficient Way for Peptide Synthesis

Peptide bond formation has drawn more and more attention due to its importance in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.Using active esters to construct peptide bonds is an indispensable strategy in this field.We herein report a fast and efficient amination reaction to synthesize peptides from catechol diesters.Catechol monoesters are good active esters in peptide synthesis due to the anchimeric assistance effect.In previously reported work,the amination reaction was inactivated if the 2-hydroxyl group in the catechol esters was functionalized.However,we found an unusual acceleration of the amination reactivity when the 2-hydroxyl group was functionalized as an ester group.The reaction can be complete in 2−3 min in some cases.This acceleration was found through experimental studies to not result from the anchimeric assistance effect.We proposed aπ*−π*interaction pathway between the two proximal ester groups.Some computational studies were made to support this assumption.

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.

Chemo-enzymatic Synthesis of Z-Asp-Val-Tyr-NH_2——A Precursor Tripeptide of Thymopentin

Z-Asp-Val-Tyr-NH2,a precursor tripeptide of thymopentin（TP-5）,was successfully synthesized by a combination of chemical and enzyme methods.Firstly,the precursor dipeptide Val-Tyr-NH2 was synthesized by a novel chemical method in four steps including the preparation of NCA-Val,the esterification of L-tyrosine and the ammonolysis of L-tyrosine ethyl ester,and the formation of Val-Tyr-NH2 from NCA-Val and L-Tyr-NH2.Secondly,a thermolysin,thermoase PC 10F was used to catalyze the formation of Z-Asp-Val-Tyr-NH2 in an aqueous/organic solvent diphase system with Z-Asp-OH and Val-Ty-NH2 as the substrates under thermodynamic control.The optimum conditions were pH=6.5,40 ℃,thermoase 100 mg,in 2-（N-morpholino） ethanesulfonic acid MES/NaOH（containing 5 mmol/L CaCl2） of n-butanol system（15/85,volume ratio） for 20 h in a maximum yield of 27.02%.

Peptide synthesis using pentafluorophenyl diphenylphosphate (FDP) as coupling reagent

Comparison of the reaction speed and yield with its analogues and some conventional peptide coupling reagents, pentafluorophenyl diphenylphosphate (FDP) was shown to be a more preferable ''active ester'' type reagent for the peptide synthesis. The synthesis of oligopeptides using FDP was achieved with high yields. The influences of several reaction parameters such as solvent, base, additive and temperature on the coupling reaction were studied using HPLC method. The degree of racemization with FDP determined by HPLC or Young test was shown to be lower than that of DCCI. Octapeptide Gly-Cys(Bzl)-Ser-Gly-Lys-Leu-Ile-Cys(Bzl)-OH, corresponding to the amino acid sequence of gp41 of HIV-1, was successfully synthesized by 5+3 approach using FDP with high yield.

Kinetically Controlled Carboxypeptidase-Catalyzed Synthesis of Novel Antioxidant Dipeptide Precursor BOC-Tyr-Ala

Recently, enzymatic peptide synthesis has drawn increasing attention due to its eco-friendly reagents and mild conditions, as compared to traditional chemical peptide synthesis. In this study, we successfully produced an important antioxidant dipeptide precursor, BOC-Tyr-Ala, via a kinetically controlled enzymatic peptide synthesis reaction, catalyzed by the recombinant car- boxypeptidase Y （CPY） expressed in P. pastoris GS 115. In this reaction, the enzyme activity was 95.043 U/mL, and we used t-butyloxycarbonyl-L-tyrosine-methyl ester （BOC-Tyr-OMe） as the acyl donor and L-alanine （L-Ala） was the amino donor. We optimized the reaction conditions to be： 30 ℃, pH 9.5, organic phase （methanol）/aqueous phase = 1：20, BOC-Tyr-OMe 0.05 mol/L, Ala 0.5 mol/L, and a reaction time of 12 h. Under these conditions, the dipeptide yield reached 49.84%. Then, we established the kinetic model of the synthesis reaction in the form of Michaelis-Menten equation according to the con-centration-time curve during the process and the transpeptidation mechanism. We calculated the apparent Michaelis constant K^（app）mand the apparent maximum reaction rate r^（app）max to be 2.9946 x 10^-2 mol/L and 2.0406 x 10.2 mmol/（mL h）, respectively.

SYNTHESIS OF CYCLIC PEPTIDES USING BBC REAGENT

We report here the synthesis of cyclic peptides using benzotriazolyloxy-bis(pyrrolidino)-carbonium hexafluoro- phosphate(BBC)as a coupling reagent with high yield and speed even in low concentration compared with the other usual coupling reagents.

SYNTHESIS OF PEG-DENDRIMERIC PEPTIDE

Synthesis of a new macromolecule with MW up to 7.6 KDA is described in the present paper. The ligation between a dendrimeric amino-PEG and unprotected peptides via a site- specific reaction is a useful trial for the preparation of synthetic vaccine and related compounds.

SYNTHESIS OF NEW ESTRONE DERIVATIVES OF AMINO ACIDS AND PEPTIDES

A series of estrone derivatives of amino acids and peptides haze been synthesized by different coupling reagents and the binding affinity of deblocked derivatives to the estrogen receptor of rats uteri have been measured by a comptetive radiometric bind- ing assay.

Synthesis and Biological Activity of N-Acetylmuramyl-L-Valyl-D-Glutamic Acid α-n-Butyl Ester

本文报道用Ｎ－羟基琥珀酰亚胺（ＨＯＳＵ）活化酯方法从Ｎ－乙酰氨基葡萄糖、Ｌ－缬氨酸和Ｄ－谷氨酸出发，合成免疫促进剂—Ｎ－乙酰胞壁酰－Ｌ－缬氨酰－Ｄ－谷氨酸－α－正丁酯，测定分析了产物和中间体的光谱特征，并用小鼠碳廓清率、巨噬细胞溶菌酶、酸性磷酸酶和血清溶菌酶等指标，初步评价了产物的免疫活性，结果表明，该化合物能有效地激活巨噬细胞，具有较强的免疫促进作用。

Synthetic and biological studies on a cyclopolypeptide of plant origin

Objective:A natural cyclic peptide previously isolated from Citrus medica was synthesized by coupling of tetrapep-tide units Boc-Leu-Pro-Trp-Leu-OMe and Boc-Ile-Ala-Ala-Gly-OMe after proper deprotection at carboxyl and amino terminals followed by cyclization of linear octapeptide segment. Methods:Solution phase technique was adopted for the synthesis of cyclooctapeptide-sarcodactylamide. Required tetrapeptide units were prepared by coupling of Boc-protected dipeptides viz. Boc-Leu-Pro-OH and Boc-Ile-Ala-OH with respective dipeptide methyl esters Trp-Leu-OMe and Ala-Gly-OMe. Cyclization of linear octapeptide unit was done by p-nitrophenyl ester method. The structure of synthesized cyclopolypeptide was elucidated by FTIR,1H NMR,13C NMR,FABMS spectral data and elemental analysis. The newly synthesized peptide was evaluated for dif-ferent pharmacological activities including antimicrobial,anthelmintic and cytotoxic activities. Results:Synthesis of sarcodac-tylamide was accomplished with >78% yield utilizing dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC) as coupling agent. Newly synthesized peptide possessed potent cytotoxic activity against Dalton's lymphoma ascites(DLA) and Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma(EAC) cell lines,in addition to moderate anthelmintic activity against earthworms Megascoplex konkanensis,Pontoscotex corethruses and Eudrilus sp. Moreover,cyclopolypeptide displayed good antimicrobial activity against pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa,in comparison to standard drugs griseofulvin and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion:Solution phase technique employing DCC and triethylamine(TEA) as base proved to be effective for the synthesis of natural cyclooctapeptide. N-methyl morpholine(NMM) was found to be a better base for the cyclization of linear octapeptide unit in comparison to TEA and pyridine.

Protease-catalyzed Synthesis of Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe in Full Aqueous Medium

Synthesis of N-benzoyl-argininylglycylasparagine methyl ester（ Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe）, a precursor tripeptide of Arg-Gly-Asp） was catalyzed by papain under kinetic control, at alkaline pH, in a full aqueous medium. The substrates were N-benzoyl-argininylglycine ethyl ester and asparagine dimethyl ester. An aqueous solution of 0. 1 mol/L KCl/NaOH containing 8 mmol/L EDTA and 2 mmol/L DTT was selected as the reaction medium. The synthesized hydrophilic tripeptide was soluble in the reaction medium during the reaction process, however, the secondary hydro- lysis of the tripeptide product was not considerable. The effects of different factors, including water content, temperature, reaction time, and molar ratio of the substrates, on the yield of Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe were examined. The optimal reaction conditions were 0. 05 mol/L Bz-Arg-Gly-OEt and 0. 15 mol/L Asp（ -OMe）2·HCl in 0. 1 mol/L KCl/ NaOH solution（pH 8.5）, at 40 ℃, and a reaction time of 60 min, with a maximum conversion yield of 62.4%.

An Improved Synthesis of Laminin Fragment CR9

Laminin nonapeptide CR9 was synthesized via two different methods. A notably enhanced yield (46.8%) was obtained from method B compared to that (12.4%) from standard protocol (method A).

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.

Recent advances in chemical protein synthesis:method developments and biological applications

The central dogma of modern biology underscores the pivotal roles proteins play in diverse biological processes,the study of which necessitates advanced methods to produce proteins with precision and versatility.Chemical protein synthesis,a powerful approach utilizing chemical reactions for the de novo construction of structurally accurate proteins,has emerged as a transformative tool for studying proteins and generating protein derivatives/mimics inaccessible by natural biological machinery,including post-translationally modified proteins,proteins comprised of unnatural amino acids,as well as mirror-image proteins.This review summarizes recent strides in synthetic method developments for chemical protein synthesis,including innovative techniques in solid-phase peptide synthesis,the challenges presented by difficult sequences in either synthesis or folding and the exploration of novel ligation reactions using both chemical and enzymatic methods.Furthermore,the review also delves into newly developed protocols for site-selective protein modifications and the generation of stapled or macrocyclized peptides/miniproteins,highlighting the power of chemical methods to make structurally diverse proteins.Recent applications of synthetic proteins in investigating post-translational modifications(phosphorylation,lipidation,glycosylation,ubiquitination,etc.),mirror-image biological processes and drug development are further discussed.Together,these topics provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of chemical protein synthesis.

An improved installation of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl(iHmb)method for chemical protein synthesis

The 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl(Hmb)backbone modification can prevent amide bond-mediated sidereactions(e.g.,aspartimide formation,peptide aggregation)by installing the removable Hmb group into a peptide bond,thus improving the synthesis of long and challenging peptides and proteins.However,its use is largely precluded by the limited Hmb’s installation sites.In this report,an improved installation of Hmb(iHmb)method was developed to achieve the flexible installation and the convenient removal of Hmb.The iHmb method involves two critical steps:(1)oxidative diazotization of the readily installed 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5-amino-benzyl(Hmab)to give 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5-diazonium-benzyl(Hmdab)by combining soamyl nitrite(IAN)/HBF_(4),and(2)reductive elimination of Hmdab to give the desired Hmb by 1,2-ethanedithiol(EDT).The iHmb method enables the installation of Hmb at any primary amino acid including the highly sterically hindered amino acids(e.g.,valine and isoleucine).The practicality and utility of the iHmb method was demonstrated by one-shot solid-phase synthesis of a challenging aspartimide-prone peptide,the mirror-image version of a hydrophobic peptide and a long-chain peptide up to 76-residue.Furthermore,the iHmb method can be utilized to facilitate chemical protein ligation,as exemplified by the synthesis of the single-spanning membrane protein sarcolipin.The iHmb method expands the toolkit for peptide synthesis and ligation and facilitates the preparation of peptides/proteins.

Synthesis of two substrate mimics of thioesterase in the biosynthesis of cyclic depsipeptide WS9326A

WS9326 A is a tachykinin receptor antagonist and quorum sensing inhibitor discovered from several Streptomyces strains.The structure of WS9326 A features a(Z)-pentenylcinnamoyl moiety attached on a cyclic depsipeptide skeleton,which is biosynthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases(NRPS).The regioselective cyclization in the last step of NRPS catalysis,which is proposed to be catalyzed by a thioesterase(TE)domain in the last module,has not been experimentally characterized.We here report the synthesis of two substrate mimics(1 and 2)of the TE(WS9326 A-TE)in WS9326 A biosynthesis,by using Fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis(SPPS)method.Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds whose structures have been elucidated based on NMR and HRESIMS analyses.The N-terminal cinnamoyl moiety and C-terminal methylated L-Ser moiety in 2 were incorporated under the mild SPPS conditions.Given the isolation difficulties of substrate of WS9326 A-TE from the Streptomyces producers of WS9326 A,our synthesis of 1 and 2 set the stage for the reconstitution of WS9326 A-TE’s catalytic reaction in vitro in the future.

Exploiting Complex-Type N-Glycan to Improve the in Vivo Stability of Bioactive Peptides

Peptides can be potentmolecules with high efficacy and selectivity in the development of biotherapeutics.However,the poor pharmacokinetic properties of peptides pose major challenges for their broader medicinal applications.Inspired by the proteinstabilizing role of natural N-glycosylation,we design and synthesize a series of parathyroid hormone(PTH)peptides(1-34),bearing either N-GlcNAc or biantennary complex-type N-glycan modification,and evaluate their serum stability and biological activities.The results indicate that an N-Asn-linked complex-type sialylundecasaccharide can increase the serum half-life and in vivo bioactivity of PTH peptides with a broad tolerance of modification sites.Further,hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectroscopy indicates that the larger-sized Nglycan can induce enhanced hydration dynamics in its surroundings,which may facilitate an improved resistance for the peptide against enzymatic proteolysis.This sialylundecasaccharide-based peptideengineering strategy has also been applied to glucagon-like peptide-1(7-37),leading to glycopeptides with enhanced hypoglycemic activity and acting time in vivo.Together,these results demonstrate the potential of using sialylated complextype N-glycan as a general engineering strategy for developing long-acting peptide therapeutics.