Combined effect of the ΔPhe or ΔAla residue and thep-nitroanilide group on a didehydropeptides conformation

Synthesis of Hybrid Tripeptide Peptidomimetics Containing Dehydroamino Acid and Aminophosphonic Acid in the Chain and Evaluation of Their Activity toward Cathepsin C

Synthesis of a new group of hybrid phosphonodehydropeptides composed of glycyl-(Z)-dehydrophenylalanine and structurally variable aminophosphonates alongside with investigations of their activity towards cathepsin C are presented. Obtained results suggest that the introduction of (Z)-dehydrophenylalanine residue into the short phosphonopeptide chain does induce the ordered conformation. Investigated peptides appeared to act as weak or moderate inhibitors of cathepsin C.

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling (CDC) of N-Phthaloyl Dehydroalanine Esters with Simple Arenes: Stereoselective Synthesis of Z-Dehydrophenylalanine Derivatives

Pd(II)-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of methyl N-phthaloyl dehydroalanine esters with simple aromatic hydrocarbons is reported. The reaction, which involves the cleavage of two sp(2) C-H bonds followed by C-C bond formation, stereoselectively generates highly valuable Z-dehydrophenylalanine skeletons in a practical, versatile, and atom economical manner. In addition, a perfluorinated product was expediently converted into important nonproteinogenic amino acid building blocks through copper-catalyzed conjugate additions of boron, silicon, and hydride moieties.

Crystal structure of N-(tert-but-oxy-carbon-yl)phenyl-alanylde-hydro-alanine isopropyl ester (Boc-Phe-ΔAla-OiPr)

In the crystal structure of the de­hydro­dipeptide (Boc-Phe-ΔAla-OiPr), the mol­ecule has a trans configuration of the N-methyl­amide group. Its geometry is different from saturated peptides but is in excellent agreement with other de­hydro­alanine compounds. In the crystal, an N—H⋯O hydrogen bond links the mol­ecules in a herringbone packing arrangement.

In the title compound, the de­hydro­dipeptide (Boc–Phe–ΔAla–OiPr, C₂₀H₂₈N₂O₅), the mol­ecule has a trans conformation of the N-methyl­amide group. The geometry of the de­hydro­alanine moiety is to some extent different from those usually found in simple peptides, indicating conjugation between the H₂C=C group and the peptide bond. The bond angles around de­hydro­alanine have unusually high values due to the steric hindrance, the same inter­action influencing the slight distortion from planarity of the de­hydro­alanine. The mol­ecule is stabilized by intra­molecular inter­actions between the isopropyl group and the N atoms of the peptide main chain. In the crystal, an N—H⋯O hydrogen bond links the mol­ecules into ribbons, giving a herringbone head-to-head packing arrangement extending along the [100] direction. In the stacks, the mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding associations.

Conformation of dehydropentapeptides containing four achiral amino acid residues - controlling the role of L-valine

Structural studies of pentapeptides containing an achiral block, built from two dehydroamino acid residues (Δ^ZPhe and ΔAla) and two glycines, as well as one chiral L-Val residue were performed using NMR spectroscopy. The key role of the L-Val residue in the generation of the secondary structure of peptides is discussed. The obtained results suggest that the strongest influence on the conformation of peptides arises from a valine residue inserted at the C-terminal position. The most ordered conformation was found for peptide Boc-Gly-ΔAla-Gly-Δ^ZPhe-Val-OMe (3), which adopts a right-handed helical conformation.

Enhanced β-turn conformational stability of tripeptides containing ΔPhe in cis over trans configuration

Conformations of three pairs of dehydropeptides with the opposite configuration of the ΔPhe residue, Boc-Gly-Δ(Z/E)Phe-Phe-p-NA (Z- p -NA and E- p -NA), Boc-Gly-Δ(Z/E)Phe-Phe-OMe (Z-OMe and E-OMe), and Boc-Gly-Δ(Z/E)Phe-Phe-OH (Z-OH and E-OH) were compared on the basis of CD and NMR studies in MeOH, TFE, and DMSO. The CD results were used as the additional input data for the NMR-based calculations of the detailed solution conformations of the peptides. It was found that Z- p -NA, E- p -NA, Z-OMe, and Z-OH adopt the β-turn conformations and E-OMe and E-OH are unordered. There are two overlapping type III β-turns in Z- p -NA, type II' β-turn in E- p -NA, and type II β-turn in Z-OMe and Z-OH. The results obtained indicate that in the case of methyl esters and peptides with a free carboxyl group, Δ(Z)Phe is a much stronger inducer of ordered conformations than Δ(E)Phe. It was also found that temperature coefficients of the amide protons are not reliable indicators of intramolecular hydrogen bonds donors in small peptides.

Two phosphonodehydrotripeptides: Boc0–Gly1–Δ(Z)Phe2–α-Abu3PO3Me2and Boc0–Gly1–Δ(Z)Phe2–α-Nva3PO3Et2

The present paper reports the crystal structures of two short phosphonotripeptides (one in two crystal forms) containing one ΔPhe (dehydrophenylalanine) residue, namely dimethyl (3-{[tert-butoxycarbonylglycyl-α,β-(Z)-dehydrophenylalanyl]amino}propyl)phosphonate, Boc0–Gly1–Δ(Z)Phe2–α-Abu3PO3Me2, C21H32N3O7P, (I), and diethyl (4-{[tert-butoxycarbonylglycyl-α,β-(Z)-dehydrophenylalanyl]amino}butyl)phosphonate, Boc0–Gly1–Δ(Z)Phe2–α-Nva3PO3Et2, as the propan-2-ol monosolvate 0.122-hydrate, C24H38N3O7P·C3H8O·0.122H2O, (II), and the ethanol monosolvate 0.076-hydrate, C24H38N3O7P·C2H6O·0.076H2O, (III). The crystals of (II) and (III) are isomorphous but differ in the type of solvent. The phosphono group is linked directly to the last Cαatom in the main chain for all three peptides. All the amino acids aretranslinked in the main chains. The crystal structures exhibit no intramolecular hydrogen bonds and are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds only.

De novo design of α,β-didehydrophenylalanine containing peptides: from models to applications

The de novo design of peptides and proteins has emerged as an approach for investigating protein structure and function. The success relies heavily on the ability to design relatively short peptides that can adopt stable secondary structures. To this end, substitution with α,β-dehydroamino acids, especially α,β-didehydrophenylalanine (ΔPhe or ΔF) has blossomed in manifold directions, providing a rich diversity of well-defined structural motifs. Introduction of α,β-didehydrophenylalanine induces β-bends in small and 3(10)-helices in longer peptide sequences. Most favorable conformation of ΔF residues are (φ,ψ) ∼(60°, 30°), (-60°, -30°), (-60°, 150°), and (60°, -150°). These features have been exploited in designing helix-turn-helix, helical bundle arrangements, and glycine zipper type super secondary structural motifs. The unusual capability of α,β-didehydrophenylalanine ring to form a variety of multicentered interactions (N-H…O, C-H…O, C-H…π, and N-H…π) suggests its possible exploitation for future de novo design of supramolecular structures. This work has now been extended to the de novo design of peptides with antibiotic, antifibrillization activity, etc. More recently, self-assembling properties of small dehydropeptides have been explored. This review focuses primarily on the structural and functional behavior of α,β-didehydrophenylalanine containing peptides.

Pentapeptides containing two dehydrophenylalanine residues--synthesis, structural studies and evaluation of their activity towards cathepsin C

Synthesis, structural and biological studies of pentapeptides containing two DeltaPhe residues (Z and E isomers) in position 2 and 4 in peptide chain were performed. All the investigated peptides adopted bent conformation and majority of them could exist as two different conformers in solution. Only pentapeptides, containing free N-termini appeared to act as weak inhibitors of cathepsin C with the slow-binding, competitive mechanism of inhibition, free acids being bound slightly better than their methyl esters. Results of molecular modeling suggested significant difference between peptides, depending of the type of amino acid residue in position 5 in peptide chain. Dehydropeptides containing Gly residue in this position may act as competitive slow-reacting substrates and therefore exhibit inhibitory-like properties.