β-amino acid substitution to investigate the recognition of angiotensin II (AngII) by angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

The article investigates how changes in angiotensin II (AngII) structure affect binding and cleavage by angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It discusses the generation of a series of C3 β-amino acid AngII analogs and the assessment of their secondary structure, ACE2 inhibition and proteolytic stability. The results showed the ability of β-substitution to dramatically alter the structure of AngII and changes in structure correlated with ACE2 inhibition and/or substrate cleavage.