Article
Chemistry, Organic
Yassin M. Elbatrawi, Taylor Gerrein, Avraz Anwar, Kamlesh M. Makwana, David Degen, Richard H. Ebright, Juan R. Del Valle
Summary: We have achieved the total synthesis and configurational assignment of pargamicin A, a highly oxidized nonribosomal peptide that effectively inhibits the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. Our synthetic strategy involves late-stage piperazine ring formation and careful selection of condensation reagents to assemble the densely substituted hexapeptide backbone. This work facilitates the synthesis of pargamicin derivatives for structure-activity relationship studies and provides insights into accessing other piperazic acid-containing natural products with steric congestion.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vangelis Agouridas, Nathalie Ollivier, Jerome Vicogne, Vincent Diemer, Oleg Melnyk
Summary: The last two decades have witnessed the rise in power of chemical protein synthesis, which now constitutes an established corpus of synthetic methods effectively complementing biological approaches. The emergence of chemoselective reactions enabling the formation of native peptide bonds between unprotected peptidic segments has contributed to this evolution. These native ligation reactions have fueled the production of homogeneous batches of large and highly decorated protein targets and have found successful applications in various fields such as chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology research.
ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohadeseh Dastpeyman, John A. Karas, Azin Amin, Bradley J. Turner, Fazel Shabanpoor
Summary: Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are efficient vectors for intracellular delivery of biologically active agents like therapeutic antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Conjugating ASOs to CPPs through native chemical ligation (NCL) significantly improves their cellular permeability and therapeutic efficacy. This study demonstrates that chemo-selective NCL is a superior strategy for synthesizing bi-/trifunctional CPP-ASO conjugates with high efficiency.
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Stijn M. Agten, Emma E. Watson, Jorge Ripoll-Rozada, Luke J. Dowman, Mike C. L. Wu, Imala Alwis, Shaun P. Jackson, Pedro Jose Barbosa Pereira, Richard J. Payne
Summary: This study presents a rational design of novel trivalent thrombin inhibitors that simultaneously block two exosites and the active site. These engineered hybrids were synthesized using a tandem diselenide-selenoester ligation and native chemical ligation in one-pot, showing potent anticoagulant activity both in vitro and in vivo. The rational engineering approach paves the way for the development of potent and selective inhibitors for various enzymatic targets.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Xiao-Lei Xie, Jing-Ze Qi, Xiao-Cui Wan, Suo-De Zhang, Yan-Ni Zhang, Ge-Min Fang
Summary: We present a robust and practical method for chemical protein synthesis using an o-nitrobenzyl group as a temporary protective group. Through further investigation, we establish a reliable strategy for the quantitative photodeprotection of the o-nitrobenzyl group. This stable protective group is successfully applied in the chemical synthesis of a programmed death ligand 1 fragment, providing a practical approach for hydrazide-based native chemical ligation.
Article
Cell Biology
Sara Huber, Theresia Fitzner, Rene G. Feichtinger, Sarah Hochmann, Theo Kraus, Karl Sotlar, Barbara Kofler, Martin Varga
Summary: This study characterized the expression of GAL and GAL(1-3)-R in the healthy human bile duct and pCCA, and found that the expression of GAL and GAL(3)-R in tumor cells of pCCA patients could potentially be suitable biomarkers for survival.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tian Wang, Chuntong Li, Meijing Wang, Jiachen Zhang, Qingyun Zheng, Lujun Liang, Guochao Chu, Xiaolin Tian, Haiteng Deng, Wei He, Lei Liu, Jinghong Li
Summary: ISG15 protein tools are crucial for studying innate immunity and antiviral responses. This study discovered that the leader protease from foot-and-mouth disease virus can facilitate ligation reactions between ISG15 and synthetic compounds, resulting in the generation of necessary ISG15 protein tools.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Maria M. Disotuar, Jake A. Smith, Jinze Li, Steve Alam, Nai-Pin Lin, Danny Hung-Chieh Chou
Summary: This study introduces a novel method for the synthesis of insulin derivatives with high efficiency and functional group tolerance using sortase A-mediated ligation, which may have implications for future insulin design and development.
ACTA PHARMACEUTICA SINICA B
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Li-Hao Chang, Oliver Seitz
Summary: Nucleic acid-programmed reactions have applications in drug screening and nucleic acid diagnosis, and show potential for a RNA-sensitive prodrug approach. In this study, we demonstrate peptide-PNA conjugates undergo peptidyl transfer reactions on RNA templates and uncover high reactivity of certain PNA sequence motifs and combinations of cell-penetrating peptides in the absence of a template. The products of templated peptidyl transfer show activity on HeLa cells and HEK293 cells, and the presence of cysteine enhances bioactivity.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Jinzheng Wang, Xuechen Li
Summary: Non-ribosomal cyclic peptides are abundant in natural sources and exhibit attractive bioactivities and favorable pharmacological properties. Their total synthesis can be achieved through peptide ligation, which offers advantages in cyclizing peptides. This strategy highlights the unique features of achieving total synthesis in cyclic peptide synthesis.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kosuke Magami, Naomi Hachiya, Kazuo Morikawa, Noriko Fujii, Takumi Takata
Summary: Post-translational modifications, specifically the isomerization of aspartate residues, play a significant role in the formation of amyloid-like fibrils derived from alpha A-crystallin-derived peptides. This process is influenced by various amino acids, with hydrophobicity around Asp76 being particularly crucial for fibril formation. The presence of L-isoAsp in these fibrils could potentially be targeted for disassembling amyloid-like fibrils.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Moritz E. Hansen, Samuel O. Yasmin, Susanne Wolfrum, Erick M. Carreira
Summary: The first total syntheses of tricyclic mutanobactins A and B, lipopeptides incorporating a thiazepanone, isolated from Streptococcus mutans, a member of the human oral microbiome, were reported. These natural products were rapidly delivered through a cascade of cyclization reactions using a solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) based route. This versatile process was also used for a streamlined synthesis of mutanobactin D. Additionally, an independent synthesis of a truncated mutanobactin A analog, utilizing a novel thiazepanone amino acid building block, was provided.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sumeet K. Singh, Andres Reyna, Xiaowen Xie, Haibin Mao, Meihuan Ji, Ning Zheng, Peter L. Hsu, Champak Chatterjee
Summary: An efficient chemical synthesis method was used to generate site-specifically sumoylated histone H4, resulting in the production of uniformly modified mononucleosomes. These modified mononucleosomes were then used as substrates in biochemical assays with histone H2B-specific ubiquitin ligases Rad6 and Bre1, revealing the strong inhibition of H2B ubiquitylation by SUMO. This novel negative biochemical crosstalk between SUMO and ubiquitin was also confirmed to exist in human cells.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gayani Wijegunawardena, Erika Castillo, Brandy Henrickson, Regan Davis, Carlo Condello, Haifan Wu
Summary: Mutations in the microglia-associated gene TREM2 increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Traditional methods for studying TREM2 rely on recombinant proteins, but achieving site-specific labeling is challenging. In this study, we synthesized the 116 amino acid TREM2 ectodomain chemically and demonstrated its functional effects on microglial cells. We also investigated the importance of glycosylation in TREM2's stability. This method allows for site-specific labeling of TREM2 and further advances our understanding of its role in Alzheimer's disease.
ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Kazuki Takashina, Akira Katsuyama, Rintaro Kaguchi, Kazuki Yamamoto, Toyotaka Sato, Satoshi Takahashi, Motohiro Horiuchi, Shin-ichi Yokota, Satoshi Ichikawa
Summary: The total synthesis of the depsipeptide natural product plusbacin A3 (1) was achieved through solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). A specific three-component reaction and hydrolysis were used to prepare a key intermediate compatible with Fmoc SPPS. The peptide was then elongated on a solid support, cleaved from the resin, and subjected to macrolactamization and global deprotection to obtain plusbacin A3 (1).