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Two stereoselective syntheses of a new pseudodipeptide isostere, the right-hand hydroxyethylene dipeptidomimetic (Xaa psi[CH2CH(OH)]Yaa), are presented. In one method readily available amino acids are used as starting materials for Evans chiral aldol condensation chemistry. The second method relies on the synthesis of an anti-aldol product for the hydroxyethylene isostere via an E-selective ethyl hydrocinnamate enolization, and thus allows for the synthesis of isosteres having side chains other than those available from amino acids. Both methods are illustrated by the chiral synthesis of Boc-Phe psi[CH2CH(OH)]Phe. Two diastereomers, (S,S,R) and (S,R,R), are incorporated into an HIV-1 protease inhibitor template which yields potent inhibitors of HIV-1 protease when the pseudodipeptide isostere is Phe psi[CH(OH)CH2]Phe or Phe psi[CH(OH)CH(OH)]Phe. The resulting Phe psi[CH2CH(OH)]Phe-containing inhibitors possess modest potency.

Neurotensin (NT), is a linear tetradecapeptide (pGlu1-Leu2-Tyr3-Glu4-Asn5- Lys6-Pro7-Arg8-Arg9-Pro10-Tyr11-Ile12-Leu13) that has been found in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues and appears to have a variety of physiological properties. A C-terminal hexapeptide analogue [N alpha Me-Arg-Lys-Pro-Trp-Tle-Leu, (1) Tle = tert-leucine] has recently been reported to have high affinity for the NT receptor and appears to possess central activity after systemic administration. In an effort to probe the structure-activity and conformational properties of the dipeptide, Pro-Trp for binding and functional activity, these residues have been substituted with several natural and unnatural amino acids. Some of these analogues have binding affinities similar to compound 1, while in other cases, such as D-amino acid substitutions, the peptides had negligible binding affinity. In general, the Pro10 position seems more tolerant of substitution by amino acids that favor a reverse turn, rather than those that favor an extended conformation. The Trp11 position accepted extra steric bulk more readily than conformational constraints.

This report details the structure-activity relationships of the HIV gag substrate analog Val-Ser-Gln-Asn-Leu psi[CH(OH)CH2]Val-Ile-Val (U-85548E), an inhibitor exhibiting subnanomolar affinity towards HIV type-1 aspartic proteinase (HIV-1 PR). Our data show that the P1-P2' tripeptidyl sequence provides the minimal chemical determinant for HIV-1 PR binding. We describe the structure-activity properties of Leu psi[CH(OH)CH2]Val substitution in other peptidyl ligands of nonviral substrate origin (e.g., angiotensinogen, insulin and pepstatin). Furthermore, the aspartic proteinase selectivities of a few key compounds are summarized relative to evaluation against human renin, human pepsin, and the fungal enzyme, rhizopuspepsin. These studies have led to the rational design of nanomolar potent inhibitors of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 PR. Finally, a 2.5 A resolution X-ray crystallographic structure of U-85548E complexed to synthetic HIV-1 PR dimer (Jaskolski et al., Biochemistry 30, 1600 [1991]) provided a 3-D picture of the inhibitor bound to the enzyme active site, and we performed computer-assisted molecular modeling studies to explore the possible binding modes of the above series of Leu psi[CH(OH)CH2]Val substituted HIV-1 PR inhibitors.

A series of [3-tryptophan]-beta-casomorphin-5([Trp3]-beta-CM-5) analogs were investigated by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy to explore their structure-conformation properties in solution. In addition, the comparative opioid activities of these compounds were evaluated using the in vitro guinea pig ileum (GPI) and mouse vas deferens (MVD) assays. Specifically, the pentapeptide sequence of [Trp3]-beta-CM-5, H-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Pro-Gly-OH (I) was modified at Pro-2 and Pro-4 by D-Pro substitutions to provide two diastereometric analogs, [Trp3-D-Pro-4]-beta-CM-5 (II) and [D-Pro2,4,Trp3]-beta-CM-5 (III). In the GPI and MVD assays, beta-CM-5 effected IC50 values of 1.3 microM and 8.9 microM, respectively, which confirmed its known mu/delta-selectivity on these two peripheral opioid receptor subtypes. The potencies of compounds I, II, and III were 0.2, 2.0, and less than 0.005 relative to beta-CM-5 on the GPI assay. Compounds I and II exhibited pronounced mu/delta-selectivities (greater than 18.9- and 12.4-fold respectively), whereas compound III was essentially inactive in both the GPI and MVD assays. CD studies of beta-CM-5 and its [Trp3]-beta-CM-5 analogs showed striking differences in their near-UV and far-UV spectra in aqueous or organic solvents. In the far UV CD spectra, weak (20%) alpha-helicity (maximum at 193 nm and minima at 208 and 222 nm) for beta-CM-5 was obtained in trifluoroethanol (TFE); however, none of the [Trp3]-beta-CM-5 analogs showed such CD bands. Of potential relevance to gamma-turn or C7 secondary structure was the observation of a strong negative band at 245 nm for compounds II and III which was not solvent-dependent in H2O or TFE, whereas compound I showed this CD band exclusively in TFE. In the near-UV CD at 275 nm (Trp electronic transition), the relative order of intensities of this band were determined for the [Trp3]-beta-CM-5 compounds to be II greater than I greater than III, which was identical to their relative biological potencies in both the GPI and MVD assays. Fluorescence energy transfer (FET) experiments of compounds I-III provided the intramolecular distances (r) between their Tyr (donor) to Trp (acceptor) side-chains, by the Förster method, and were as follows: [Trp3]-beta-CM-5, r = 10.6 A; [Trp3, D-Pro4]-beta-CM-5, r = 9.6 A; and [D-Pro2,4,Trp3]-beta-CM-5, r = 11.0 A.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Based on structure-activity relationships of the potent alpha-MSH agonist, Ac-Nle4-Asp5-His6-D-Phe7-Arg8-Trp9-Lys10-NH2, several analogs of the general formula Ac-Nle4-Asp5-Waa6-Xaa7-Yaa8-Zaa9-Lys10+ ++-NH2 were synthesized and tested on frog and lizard skin bioassays for their possible inhibitory actions against alpha-MSH on melanocyte stimulation. When Waa6 = Trp, Xaa7 = D-Phe, Yaa8 = Nle and Zaa = Trp, a highly potent alpha-MSH antagonist, Ac-Nle-Asp-Trp-D-Phe-Nle-Trp-Lys-NH2, with selectivity on the frog skin alpha-MSH receptor system (pA2 = 8.4) was obtained. However, several modifications in the amino acid sequence of the peptide resulted in a complete loss of antagonistic activity and a recovery of very weak agonistic action. The following changes in the amino acid sequence of the peptide were examined; His or D-Trp for Waa, L-Phe for Xaa, Arg, Ala or Pro for Yaa, and D-Trp for Zaa. All resulted in full agonists with no antagonistic activity. In addition, lactam cyclization between the Asp5 and Lys10 side chains in the antagonist gave a full agonist and a complete loss of antagonistic activity. Efforts to develop a rational approach for the design of selective alpha-MSH antagonists for the frog skin alpha-MSH receptor will be discussed.

We have prepared several alpha-melanotropin (alpha-MSH) analogues with tyrosine substituted for methionine at the 4-position and determined their melanotropic activities on the frog (Rana pipiens), lizard (Anolis carolinensis) and S-91 (Cloudman) mouse melanoma adenylate cyclase bioassays. The potencies of Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-10-NH2 and Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-11-NH2 were compared with alpha-MSH and with their corresponding methionine and norleucine substituted analogues. The Tyr-4 analogues were found to be less active than the Nle-4 analogues on both the frog and lizard assays. Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-10-NH2 was found to be less active than Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-11-NH2 on the lizard bioassay, but more active than the longer fragment on the frog skin assay. Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-10-NH2 exhibited extremely prolonged biological activity on frog skin, but not on lizard skin, while the melanotropic activity of Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-11-NH2 was rapidly reversed on both assay systems. The increased potency of Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-10-NH2 over Ac-[Tyr4]-alpha-MSH4-11-NH2 on frog melanocytes may be related to the fact that the shorter 4-10 analogue exhibits prolonged biological activity. Interestingly, it was found that both Tyr-4 analogues were partial agonists on the mouse melanoma adenylate cyclase bioassay, and stimulated the enzyme to only about 50% of the maximal activity of alpha-MSH. We reported previously that replacement of L-Phe-7 by its D-enantiomer in [Nle4]-alpha-MSH and its Nle-4 containing analogues resulted in peptides with increased potency and in some instances prolonged activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The structure-conformation relationships of a series of angiotensinogen6-13 (ANG6-13, His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Val-Ile-His) congeners substituted by Nin-For-Trp (Ftr), D-Ftr or Trp at the N-terminus, Tyr at the C-terminus and Phe psi[CH2NH]Phe at the P1-P'1 cleavage site (i.e. Leu10-Val11) were studied using resonance energy transfer coupled with molecular modeling of the peptide conformation using macromolecular energy refinement and dynamics simulation. Average end-to-end intramolecular distances (r) of the peptides in solution were determined by fluorescence spectroscopy. For example, Ac-Ftr-Pro-Phe-His-Phe psi[CH2NH]Phe-Val-Tyr-NH2 (U-70714E) gave an average intramolecular donor (Tyr)-acceptor (Ftr) distance of 16.3A in aqueous solution. This experimental value was consistent with a distance of 17.9 A determined by molecular modeling of U-70714E to a human renin 3-D structure (developed from known homologous aspartyl protease inhibitor X-ray crystallographic data) followed by simulation of the solution phase conformation of the peptide. An extended backbone secondary structure of U-70714E is suggested from these studies and the relationship(s) of structure-conformation to structure-activity was explored by analysis of several congeners of U-70714E, a potent (IC50 = 3.0 X 10(-9)M) inhibitor of human renin in vitro.