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Substitution of disulfide bonds with a diselenide bonds in peptides and proteins is an often-used strategy to increase the stability of naturally occurring peptides and proteins. In this paper, diselenide metathesis between model diselenide dimer peptides, as well as that in diselenide(s)-substituted biologically active peptides, were analyzed. Surprisingly, depending on the tertiary structure of the peptides, we observed that the metathesis reaction occurs under physiological conditions even in the absence of reducing agents, light and heating.

Posttranslational modifications of histone proteins, which form nucleosome cores, play an important role in gene regulation. Ubiquitination is one such modification. We previously reported on the synthesis of ubiquitinated histone H3 with an isopeptide mimetic structure. In this report, we describe the preparation of ubiquitinated histone H3 peptides with a native isopeptide structure, which showed a slightly weaker effect on the enzymatic activity of DNA methyltransferase 1 than the previous ubiquitinated H3 peptide analogs. These findings show that a native structure is important for determining the mechanism of the function, although ubiquitinated H3 peptide analogs can mimic the role of the original ubiquitinated H3. We also report on the successful preparation of the ubiquitinated full length histone H3., (© 2019 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The synthesis of a peptide selenoester was efficiently carried out by the 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) method using N-alkylcysteine, at the C-terminus of the peptide, as the N-to-S acyl shift device. The selenoester selectively reacted with the terminal amino group of the peptide aryl thioester in the presence of N,N-diisopropylethylamine and dipyridyldisulfide, thus leaving the aryl thioester intact. Combined with silver-ion-promoted and silver-ion-free thioester activation methods, a one-pot four-segment ligation was realized. The method was successfully used to assemble the entire sequence of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is composed of 153 amino-acid residues, in one pot. After the folding reaction, the fully active SOD was obtained., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The first step of cell membrane penetration of arginine peptides is thought to occur via electrostatic interactions between positive charges of arginine residues and negative charges of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on the cell surface. However, the molecular interaction of arginine peptides with GAG still remains unclear. Here, we compared the interactions of several arginine peptides of Tat, R8, and Rev and their analogues with heparin in relation to the cell membrane penetration efficiency. The high-affinity binding of arginine peptides to heparin was shown to be driven by large favorable enthalpy contributions, possibly reflecting multidentate hydrogen bondings of arginine residues with sulfate groups of heparin. Interestingly, the lysine peptides in which all arginine residues are substituted with lysine residues exhibited negligible binding enthalpy despite of their considerable binding to heparin. In CHO-K1 cells, arginine peptides exhibited a great cell-penetrating ability whereas their corresponding lysine peptides did not penetrate into cells. The degree of cell penetration of arginine peptides markedly decreased by the chlorate treatment of cells which prevents the sulfation of GAG chains. Significantly, the cell penetration efficiency of arginine peptides was found to be correlated with the favorable enthalpy of binding to heparin. These results suggest that the enthalpy-driven strong interaction with sulfated GAGs such as heparan sulfate plays a critical role in the efficient cell membrane penetration of arginine peptides., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Site-specific labeling of synthetic peptides carrying N-methoxyglycine (MeOGly) by isothiocyanate is demonstrated. A nonapeptide having MeOGly at its N-terminus was synthesized by the solid-phase method and reacted with phenylisothiocyanate under various conditions. In acidic solution, the reaction specifically gave a peptide having phenylthiourea structure at its N-terminus, leaving side chain amino group intact. The synthetic human β-defensin-2 carrying MeOGly at its N-terminus or the side chain amino group of Lys(10) reacted with phenylisothiocyanate or fluorescein isothiocyanate also at the N-methoxyamino group under the same conditions, demonstrating that this method is generally useful for the site-specific labeling of linear synthetic peptides as well as disulfide-containing peptides., (Copyright © 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The chemical synthesis of human interleukin-2 (IL-2) , having a core 1 sugar, by a ligation method is reported. Although IL-2 is a globular glycoprotein, its C-terminal region, in particular (99-133), is extremely insoluble when synthesized by solid-phase method. To overcome this problem, the side-chain carboxylic acid of the Glu residues was protected by a picolyl ester, thus reversing its polarity from negative to positive. This reverse polarity protection significantly increased the isoelectric point of the peptide segment and made it positive under acidic conditions and facilitated the purification. An efficient method to prepare the prolyl peptide thioester required for the synthesis of the (28-65) segment was also developed. These efforts resulted in the total synthesis of the glycosylated IL-2 having full biological activity., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Although the catalytic triad of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) has been well recognized, there was little evidence for the relevance of the interactions among the triad amino acid residues, i.e., selenocysteine (U), glutamine (Q), and tryptophan (W), to the GPx antioxidative functions. Using a designed selenopeptide having an amino acid sequence of GQAUAWG, we demonstrate here that U, Q, and W present at the active site can interact with each other to exert the enzymatic activity. The amino acid sequence was chosen on the basis of the Monte Carlo molecular simulation for various selenopeptides in polarizable continuous water using the SAAP force field (SAAP-MC). Measurement of the GPx-like activity for the selenopeptide obtained by solid-phase peptide synthesis revealed that the antioxidant activity is cooperatively enhanced by the presence of Q and W proximate to U, although the activity was low compared to selenocystine (U2). The effect of Q on the activity was more important than that of W. In addition, the fluorescence spectrometry suggested a close contact between U and W. These experimental observations were supported by SAAP-MC simulation as well as by ab initio calculation. The latter further suggested that the interaction mode among the triad changes depending on the intermediate states.

A novel GlcNAc-Asn unit carrying trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)-sensitive O-protecting groups was prepared. The unit was used for the solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) of the N-acetylglucosaminylated emmprin (35-69) thioester via one-step deprotection by TFA combined with the N-alkylcysteine thioesterification method. This segment was used for the synthesis of the first Ig domain (22-104) of emmprin carrying GlcNAc by one-pot ligation with other segments using the thioester method. Finally, the sugar chain was elongated by transglycosylation using glycosynthase to give the Ig domain carrying the disialo- and asialo-complex-type sugar chain.

One of the condensation methods for the preparation of long-chain peptides, the so-called thioester method requires protecting groups for amino and thiol groups for regioselective ligation. In this study, we demonstrated that the phenacyl (Pac) group acts as an efficient protecting group of cysteine side chains. We synthesized a cysteine derivative carrying the Pac group at the side chain sulfur atom, and Pac-containing peptides and peptide thioesters were synthesized using it by the ordinary 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-based solid-phase peptide synthesis strategy. Pac-containing peptide segments could be condensed by the thioester method. After the condensation reaction, Pac groups could be removed by Zn/AcOH treatment. In addition, the azido group, which was used for the protection of lysine side chains, was simultaneously converted into an amino group, demonstrating that this protecting group scheme simplified the deprotecting reaction after the peptide condensation reaction to a single step.

Sublancin is an S-linked glycopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis 168 and consists of 37 amino acid residues with two disulfide bonds. In this study, we synthesized sublancin by Fmoc-based solid-phase peptide synthesis and chemoselective disulfide formation reactions., (Copyright © 2011 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The synthesis of Fmoc-aminoacyl-N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteine, an N- to S-acyl migratory device for the preparation of peptide thioesters by Fmoc-SPPS (solid-phase peptide synthesis) is described. Condensation of Fmoc-aminoacyl pentafluorophenyl ester and N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteine was efficiently performed in the presence of HOOBt (3-hydroxy-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-1,2,3-benzotriazine) in DMF. A small amount of diastereomer yielded during the reaction was easily separated by HPLC purification and the highly pure devices were obtained for most of the proteinogenic amino acids.

In the so-called thioester method for the condensation of peptide segments, protecting groups for amino and thiol groups are required for chemoselective ligation. In this study, we developed a novel thiol protecting group, N-methyl-phenacyloxycarbamidomethyl (Pocam). We used it for protection of cysteine side chains, and synthesized Pocam-containing peptides and peptide thioesters. These were condensed by the thioester method. After the condensation reaction, Pocam groups were cleaved by Zn/AcOH treatment. At the same time, the azido group, which was used for the protection of lysine side chains, was also converted to an amino group, demonstrating that this protecting group strategy simplified the deprotecting reaction after the peptide condensation reaction to only one step.

A peptide carrying a mercaptomethylated proline derivative at the C-terminus was prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and converted to the thioester of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) by aqueous MPA under microwave irradiation conditions. This post-SPPS thioesterification reaction was successfully applied to the synthesis of a glycopeptide thioester composed of 25 amino acid (AA) residues, which was then used for the preparation of a 61-AA glycopeptide by the thioester condensation method.

Rationale: The thiosuccinimide linker is widely used in the synthesis of bioconjugates. However, it is susceptible to hydrolysis and is transformed into its hydrolyzed and/or the isobaric thiazine forms, the latter of which is a fairly common product in a conjugate that contains a cysteinyl peptide. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS) and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS/MS) are useful for differentiating these isobaric species. Methods: Four cross‐linked peptides with thiosuccinimide linkers were synthesized. Analogs with linkers that were transformed into thiazine and/or the hydrolyzed thiosuccinimide linkers were then synthesized by incubating the samples at neutral or basic pH. All the cross‐linked peptides were purified using RP‐HPLC (reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography) and differentiated using MALDI‐MS, MALDI‐MS/MS, and ultraviolet photodissociation. Results: A cysteinyl peptide‐containing conjugate, the thiosuccinimide form, was largely transformed into the hydrolyzed or thiazine forms after incubation at neutral or basic pH. MALDI‐MS allowed the three forms to be differentiated: the thiosuccinimide and its hydrolysis product yielded two constituent peptides after reductive cleavage between the Cys and succinimide moieties; no fragment ions were produced from the thiazine form. In addition, MALDI‐MS/MS of the thiosuccinimide form yielded two pairs of complementary fragment ions via 1,4‐elimination: Cys‐SH and maleimide, and dehydro‐alanine and thiosuccinimide, which are different from those produced via reductive cleavage in MALDI‐MS. The thiazine form yielded fragment ions resulting from the cleavage of the newly formed amide bond in the linker that resulted from thiazine formation. Conclusions: The thiosuccinimide (but not thiazine) form of the cross‐linked peptide yielded individual constituent peptides using MALDI‐MS and MALDI‐MS/MS, showing specific 1,4‐elimination for the thiosuccinimide form and cleavage at the newly formed peptide bond via transcyclization for the thiazine form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-resin intramolecular native chemical ligation (NCL) assisted by N-ethylcysteine using Fmoc/SPPS to obtain cyclic peptides is described. N-terminal cysteine-containing peptides were subjected to NCL conditions leading to cyclization–cleavage reactions and consecutive S → N shift, rendering cyclic peptides in good yields and purities. The compounds were evaluated against P. falciparum 3D7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptides with an N -alkoxy or N -aryloxy amino acid at their N-terminus were synthesized and successfully ligated with a peptide thioester by silver ion activation under a slightly acidic condition without requiring protection of the side chain amino groups. The N -methoxy group was easily cleaved by the SmI 2 reduction in CH 3 OH aq. to obtain the desired peptide with a native peptide bond. This method was successfully applied to the synthesis of the human atrial natriuretic peptide showing the efficiency of the novel ligation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of a peptide selenoester was efficiently carried out by the 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) method using N-alkylcysteine, at the C-terminus of the peptide, as the N-to-S acyl shift device. The selenoester selectively reacted with the terminal amino group of the peptide aryl thioester in the presence of N, N-diisopropylethylamine and dipyridyldisulfide, thus leaving the aryl thioester intact. Combined with silver-ion-promoted and silver-ion-free thioester activation methods, a one-pot four-segment ligation was realized. The method was successfully used to assemble the entire sequence of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is composed of 153 amino-acid residues, in one pot. After the folding reaction, the fully active SOD was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of one-pot ligation for chemoenzymatic sythesis of Tim-3 immunoglobulin (Ig) domain which carries complex-type N-glycan. It states that the one-pot ligation was performed, the reaction proceeded effictively and the glycopolypeptide was successfully obtained. It mentions that the obtained glycoprotein was changed into complex-type homogeneous glycoform using the enzymatic sugar chain transfer through glycosynthase.

Abstract: In order to achieve an efficient synthesis of highly hydrophobic proteins by the native chemical ligation (NCL) reaction, we examined to incorporate the O-acyl isopeptide method, which is known to improve the solubility of the segment, to the NCL reaction: a peptide thioester having O-acyl isopeptide structures is prepared by the Boc mode solid-phase method using an azido group as a protecting group for the isopeptide site, and then ligated with C-terminal segment with an in situ reduction of the azido group followed by an O- to N-acyl shift. This method was successfully applied to the synthesis of the sphingolipid activator protein, saposin C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emmprin, a glycoprotein containing two Ig domains, is enriched on tumor cell surfaces and stimulates matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) production by adjacent stromal cells. Its first Ig domain (ECI) contains the biologically active site. The dependence of emmprin activity on N-glycosylation is controversial. We investigated whether synthetic ECI with the shortest sugar is functionally active. Methods: The whole ECI peptides carrying sugar chains, a chitobiose unit or N-linked core pentasaccharide, were synthesized by the thioester method and added to fibroblasts to examine whether they stimulate MMP-2 production. Results: ECI carrying a chitobiose unit, ECI-(GlcNAc) 2, but not ECI without a chitobiose unit or the chitobiose unit alone, dose-dependently stimulated MMP-2 production by fibroblasts. ECI with longer chitobiose units, ECI-[(Man)3 (GlcNAc)2], also stimulated MMP-2 production, but the extent of its stimulation was lower than that of ECI-(GlcNAc)2. Conclusions: Our results indicate that ECI can mimic emmprin activity when substituted with chitobiose, the disaccharide with which N-glycosylation starts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Androgenic gland hormone (AGH) of the woodlouse, Armadillidium vulgare, is a heterodimeric glycopeptide. In this study, we synthesized AGH with a homogeneous N-linked glycan using the expressed protein ligation method. Unexpectedly, disulfide bridge arrangement of a semisynthetic peptide differed from that of a recombinant peptide prepared in a baculovirus expression system, and the semisynthetic peptide showed no biological activity in vito. T'o confirm that the loss of biological activity resulted from disulfide bond isomerizalion. AGH with a GIcNAc moiety was chemically synthesized by the selective disulfide formation. This synthetic AGH showed biological activity in vito. These results indicate that the native conformation of AGH is not the most thermodynamically stable form, and correct disulfide linkages are important for conferring AGH activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new method for the preparation of peptide thioester by the post-solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) approach was developed. A series of N-alkyl cysteine derivatives were prepared and used as the C-terminus residue of the peptides prepared by the Fmoc SPPS. The synthetic peptides released from resin by TFA were readily converted to the peptide thioester in aqueous 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) without significant side reactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Peptide thioester corresponding to a MUC2 tandem repeat unit, which retains seven GaINAc moieties, was prepared by the Fmoc method followed by the low TfOH treatment to remove benzyl groups at the carbohydrate portions. The glycosylated peptide thioester was then consecutively joined by the activation of a thioester group by silver ions to obtain a MUC2 tandem repeat model composed of 141 amino acids with 42 GaINAc moieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptide thioester carrying N-linked core pentasaccharide was prepared by the Fmoc solid-phase method with a combination of the benzyl-protection strategy at the carbohydrate portion. The obtained peptide thioester was successfully used for the synthesis of the first Ig domain of emmprin composed of 61 amino acid residues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Review: 31 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: • Alarin inhibits the growth of E. coli but not S. aureus. • Alarin’s potency is comparable to LL-37 in inhibiting the growth of E. coli. • Alarin can cause bacterial membrane blebbing. • Alalin does not induce hemolysis on erythrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mannobioside-linked phosphoethanolamine 10, a prototype model of the GPI anchor, was synthesized via glycosidation of the monosaccharide donor and acceptor, and subsequent phosphorylation. In order to test the reactivity of the amino group involved in 10 against the activated amino acid esters, 10 was reacted with N-protected amino acid pentafluorophenyl esters in the presence of HOBt. The reactions gave the aminoacylated products in moderate yields. When Fmoc-Ser-OPfp 12 and Fmoc-Cys(SBut)-OPfp 14 were reacted with 10, byproducts 19, 20 and 21 derived from N- and O-acylation were produced. In contrast, reactions of 10 and N-protected amino acid thioesters were promoted with AgNO3, HOSu, and DIEA to afford the coupling products without the undesired O-acylation. Peptidylation of 10 with the synthesized oligopeptide thioesters 24 and 27 was also successful under the segment coupling conditions of the peptide thioester method as well as those of the native chemical ligation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study synthesis of Fmoc-aminoacyl-N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteine, a new N→S acyl migratory device for the preparation of peptide thioesters by Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) is described. Condensation of Fmoc-aminoacyl fluoride and N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteine allyl ester, readily prepared from known S-triphenylmethylcysteine allyl ester, was efficiently promoted in CH2Cl2 under high-pressure (800MPa). When the reaction was performed with the additive DIEA, considerable epimerization at the chiral centers occurred, affording a mixture of diastereomers. When the preparation procedure for N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteine allyl ester was changed and the additive DIEA in the high-pressure reaction was excluded, Fmoc-aminoacyl-N-ethyl-S-triphenylmethylcysteines was obtained as a single stereoisomer without epimerization. The Fmoc-l-leucine adduct thus prepared was deallylated and used for the SPPS of a known decapeptide. A remarkable increase (44%) in the overall yield of the decapeptidethioester was achieved, compared to the 7% obtained by the stepwise on-resin Leu-Cys condensation method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Review: 4 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]