1.On the use of N-dicyclopropylmethyl aspartyl-glycine synthone for backbone amide protection.
Röder R1, Henklein P, Weisshoff H, Mügge C, Pätzel M, Schubert U, Carpino LA, Henklein P. J Pept Sci. 2010 Jan;16(1):65-70. doi: 10.1002/psc.1196.
To prevent aspartimide formation and related side products in Asp-Xaa, particularly Asp-Gly-containing peptides, usually the 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzyl (Hmb) backbone amide protection is applied for peptide synthesis according to the Fmoc-protocols. In the present study, the usefulness of the recently proposed acid-labile dicyclopropylmethyl (Dcpm) protectant was analyzed. Despite the significant steric hindrance of this bulky group, N-terminal H-(Dcpm)Gly-peptides are quantitatively acylated by potent acylating agents, and alternatively the dipeptide Fmoc-Asp(OtBu)-(Dcpm)Gly-OH derivative can be used as a building block. In contrast to the Hmb group, Dcpm is inert toward acylations, but is readily removed in the acid deprotection and resin-cleavage step.
2.Solid-Phase Total Synthesis of Bacitracin A.
Lee J1, Griffin JH, Nicas TI. J Org Chem. 1996 Jun 14;61(12):3983-3986.
An efficient solid-phase method for the total synthesis of bacitracin A is reported. This work was undertaken in order to provide a general means of probing the intriguing mode of action of the bacitracins and exploring their potential for use against emerging drug-resistant pathogens. The synthetic approach to bacitracin A involves three key features: (1) linkage to the solid support through the side chain of the L-asparaginyl residue at position 12 (L-Asn(12)), (2) cyclization through amide bond formation between the alpha-carboxyl of L-Asn(12) and the side chain amino group of L-Lys(8), and (3) postcyclization addition of the N-terminal thiazoline dipeptide as a single unit. To initiate the synthesis, Fmoc L-Asp(OH)-OAllyl was attached to a PAL resin. The chain of bacitracin A was elaborated in the C-to-N direction by sequential piperidine deprotection/HBTU-mediated coupling cycles with Fmoc D-Asp(OtBu)-OH, Fmoc L-His(Trt)-OH, Fmoc D-Phe-OH, Fmoc L-Ile-OH, Fmoc D-Orn(Boc)-OH, Fmoc L-Lys(Aloc)-OH, Fmoc L-Ile-OH, Fmoc D-Glu(OtBu)-OH, and Fmoc L-Leu-OH.
3.Synthesis of linear and cyclic phosphopeptides as ligands for the N-terminal SH2-domain of protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1.
Imhof D1, Nothmann D, Zoda MS, Hampel K, Wegert J, Böhmer FD, Reissmann S. J Pept Sci. 2005 Jul;11(7):390-400.
Linear and cyclic phosphopeptides related to the pY2267 binding site of the epithelial receptor tyrosine kinase Ros have been synthesized as ligands for the amino-terminal SH2 (src homology) domain of protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1. The synthesis was accomplished by Fmoc-based solid-phase methodology using side-chain unprotected phosphotyrosine for the linear and mono-benzyl protected phosphotyrosine for the cyclic peptides. According to molecular modelling, the incorporation of a glycine residue between Lys (position pY-1 relative to phosphotyrosine) and Asp or Glu (position pY+2) was recommended for the cyclic candidates. The preparation of these peptides was successfully performed by the incorporation of a Fmoc-Xxx(Gly-OAll)-OH (Xxx = Asp, Glu) dipeptide building block that was prepared in solution prior to SPPS. The cyclization was achieved with PyBOP following Alloc/OAll-deprotection. This study demonstrates the usefulness of allyl-type protecting groups for the generation of side-chain cyclized phosphopeptides.
4.Total chemical synthesis and NMR characterization of the glycopeptide tx5a, a heavily post-translationally modified conotoxin, reveals that the glycan structure is alpha-D-Gal-(1-->3)-alpha-D-GalNAc.
Kang J1, Low W, Norberg T, Meisenhelder J, Hansson K, Stenflo J, Zhou GP, Imperial J, Olivera BM, Rigby AC, Craig AG. Eur J Biochem. 2004 Dec;271(23-24):4939-49.
The 13-amino acid glycopeptide tx5a (Gla-Cys-Cys-Gla-Asp-Gly-Trp*-Cys-Cys-Thr*-Ala-Ala-Hyp-OH, where Trp* = 6-bromotryptophan and Thr* = Gal-GalNAc-threonine), isolated from Conus textile, causes hyperactivity and spasticity when injected intracerebral ventricularly into mice. It contains nine post-translationally modified residues: four cysteine residues, two gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues, and one residue each of 6-bromotryptophan, 4-trans-hydroxyproline and glycosylated threonine. The chemical nature of each of these has been determined with the exception of the glycan linkage pattern on threonine and the stereochemistry of the 6-bromotryptophan residue. Previous investigations have demonstrated that tx5a contains a disaccharide composed of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and galactose (Gal), but the interresidue linkage was not characterized. We hypothesized that tx5a contained the T-antigen, beta-D-Gal-(1-->3)-alpha-D-GalNAc, one of the most common O-linked glycan structures, identified previously in another Conus glycopeptide, contalukin-G.
