Search

The natural product miraziridine A isolated from the marine sponge Theonella aff. mirabilis unifies within one molecule three structurally privileged elements: (i) (2R,3R)-aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid, (ii) (3S,4S)-4-amino-3-hydroxy-6-methylheptanoic acid (statine), and (iii) (E)-(S)-4-amino-7-guanidino-hept-2-enoic acid (vinylogous arginine). The alignment of them realized in the tetrapetide allows for a simultaneous inhibition of the proteolytic activity of trypsin-like serine proteases, papain-like cysteine proteases, and pepsin-like aspartyl proteases. Therefore, this unique compound represents a blueprint for the design of protease class-spanning inhibitors.

Based on bifunctional diketopiperazines as templates and m-aminomethyl-phenylalanine as arginine mimetic, we have synthesized a new class of structurally related dibasic tryptase inhibitors with systematically increasing spacer length. These compounds were used to scan the distance between the active sites of two neighboring subunits of the beta-tryptase tetramer. The K(i)-values obtained are a function of the distance between the terminal amino groups and indicate optimal binding of inhibitors with 29-31 bonds between the amino groups. These experimental data are in full agreement with predictions derived from a novel modeling program that allows the docking of bivalent ligands.

Beta-cyclodextrin is known to form inclusion complexes with hydrophobic drugs. Several tumor cell lines are known to secrete and/or contain membrane-associated cathepsin B which is possibly involved in invasion and metastasis. Based on these information, our recently developed endo-epoxysuccinyl peptide inhibitor MeO-Gly-Gly-Leu-(2S,3S)-tEps-Leu-Pro-OH for cathepsin B was conjugated with beta-cyclodextrin to obtain a site-directed drug carrier system. Furthermore, the conjugate, was shown to form an inclusion complex with the cytotoxic drug methotrexate.