(D-Trp12,Tyr34)-pTH (7-34) amide (bovine)

We studied the effect of (D-Trp12,Tyr34)bovine parathyroid hormone-(7-34)amide [(D-Trp12,Tyr34)bPTH(7-34)NH2], a recently described highly potent antagonist of parathyroid hormone (PTH), on the adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and the sodium-dependent phosphate transport (NaPiT) responses to bPTH-(1-34) or PTH-related protein [PTHrP(1-34)] in renal epithelial cells. In this system, bPTH and PTHrP increased cAMP production and inhibited NaPiT in a similar manner. (D-Trp12,Tyr34)bPTH(7-34)NH2 did not influence either cAMP or NaPiT, but markedly attenuated the responses to PTH or PTHrP. The effect was concentration dependent, and a maximal inhibition of PTH or PTHrP effects was obtained with a 10(3)- to 10(4)-fold greater concentration of the antagonist. In contrast, the same concentration of the unsubstituted counterpart, (Tyr34)bPTH(7-34)NH2, which abolished the PTH- or PTHrP-induced stimulation of cAMP production, did not affect the inhibition of NaPiT caused by either peptide. Thus (D-Trp12,Tyr34)bPTH(7-34)NH2 inhibited the effects of PTH and PTHrP on both cAMP synthesis and Pi transport in renal cells. Because of the effects of this analogue on a transport function affected by these two peptides under physiological and pathophysiological conditions, it appears to be a promising antagonist.

PTH-related protein (PTHrP) has been shown to be a major factor responsible for hypercalcemia of malignancy. PTHrP acts via the PTH/PTHrP receptor, and therefore, PTH antagonists might be expected to reverse the hypercalcemia in malignancy. In the present studies, the PTH antagonists [Tyr34]bovine (b) PTH-(7-34)NH2, [D-Trp12,Tyr34]-bPTH-(7-34)NH2, or PTHrP-(7-34)NH2, were administered to hypercalcemic athymic nude mice bearing a human squamous cell carcinoma of the lung in 60- to 500-fold molar excess of a dose of PTHrP-(1-34) known to produce hypercalcemia. The antagonists had no significant effect on serum calcium levels. In an adenylyl cyclase assay using the ROS 17/2.8 cells, a potent PTH antagonist, [Leu11,D-Trp12]PTHrP-(7-34)NH2 was rapidly inactivated in the presence of rat or human plasma. This inactivation by plasma was not blocked by common inhibitors of proteolysis (aprotinin, soybean trypsin inhibitor, and leupeptin). Preliminary studies demonstrated that inactivation of the PTHrP antagonist was caused by a plasma component with an apparent mol wt of 230,000 daltons. The knowledge of the structure of the PTH/PTHrP receptor combined with the identification of a hormone-inactivating plasma factor should facilitate the design of PTH-antagonists that are effective in vivo.

Based upon N-terminal parathyroid hormone (PTH) analog structure-activity relationship studies, position 12 was found to possess a wide structural latitude and was chosen as a site for single amino acid substitutions. Replacement of the naturally-occurring Gly with D-Trp at position 12 in the PTH antagonists [Tyr34]bPTH-(7-34)NH2 and [Nle8,18,Tyr34]bPTH-(7-34)NH2 increased in vitro receptor affinity. The D-Trp12 containing analogs were 12-fold more potent than their unsubstituted counterparts as inhibitors of PTH binding to renal and bone PTH receptors and 13-27-fold more potent as inhibitors of PTH-stimulated renal and bone adenylate cyclase activity. Based upon Scatchard analyses of saturation binding experiments and Schild analyses of adenylate cyclase experiments, [D-Trp12,Tyr34]bPTH-(7-34)NH2 was shown to interact with PTH receptors in a competitive manner. These studies demonstrate, therefore, that D-Trp12 substitution in PTH antagonists improves inhibitory properties in vitro and is compatible with a helical conformation at this position as a new direction for the design of PTH antagonists.