Potent angiotensin II antagonists with non-beta-branched amino acids in position 5

The role of the gut microbiota in health and cardiovascular diseases

The gut microbiota is critical to human health, such as digesting nutrients, forming the intestinal epithelial barrier, regulating immune function, producing vitamins and hormones, and producing metabolites to interact with the host. Meanwhile, increasing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota has a strong correlation with the occurrence, progression and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In patients with CVDs and corresponding risk factors, the composition and ratio of gut microbiota have significant differences compared with their healthy counterparts. Therefore, gut microbiota dysbiosis, gut microbiota-generated metabolites, and the related signaling pathway may serve as explanations for some of the mechanisms about the occurrence and development of CVDs. Several studies have also demonstrated that many traditional and latest therapeutic treatments of CVDs are associated with the gut microbiota and its generated metabolites and related signaling pathways. Given that information, we summarized the latest advances in the current research regarding the effect of gut microbiota on health, the main cardiovascular risk factors, and CVDs, highlighted the roles and mechanisms of several metabolites, and introduced corresponding promising treatments for CVDs regarding the gut microbiota. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on exploring the role of gut microbiota related metabolites and their therapeutic potential in CVDs, which may eventually provide better solutions in the development of therapeutic treatment as well as the prevention of CVDs.

Transformation of Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 peptidomimetic positive allosteric modulators of the dopamine D2 receptor into negative modulators

The synthesis of dimethyl derivatives of 5.6.5 spiro bicyclic lactam Pro-Leu-Gly-NH(2) peptidomimetics was carried out to test the hypothesis that by placing methyl groups on the β-methylene carbon of the thiazolidine ring steric bulk would be introduced into the topological space that the β-methylene carbon is believed to occupy in the negative allosteric modulators of the dopamine D(2) receptor. With such a modification, a positive allosteric modulator would be converted into a negative allosteric modulator. This hypothesis was shown to be correct as 3a and 4a where found to be negative allosteric modulators, whereas their unmethylated derivatives were positive allosteric modulators of the dopamine D(2) receptor.

Linkage Isomerism, Structure, and Reactivity Studies of Sulfenamide Complexes of Cobalt(III)

The S-bonded sulfenamide isomers have been prepared by the known reaction of hydroxylamine-O-sulfonate with (en)(2)Co(III) thiolate complexes of aminoethanethiol, cysteine, and penicillamine and the cis dithiolate formed by N,N'-ethylene-di-penicillamine (EDP) and Co(III). It is shown that the sulfenamides undergo linkage isomerization in alkaline solution to produce their respective N-bonded linkage isomers. The addition of acid yields the protonated N-bonded isomers. The structures of [(en)(2)Co(NH(2)S(CH(2))(2)NH(2))](2)(S(2)O(6))(3) and [Co((NH(2)S)(2)EDP)]Br have been determined by X-ray crystallography, and the pK(a) of [(en)(2)Co(NH(2)S(CH(2))(2)NH(2))](3+) has been determined by spectrophotometry. The pH dependencies of the kinetics of the linkage isomerization reactions have been studied and yield pK(a) values of the S-bonded isomers. The (en)(2)Co systems give only the acid-stable N,N' isomer at equilibrium, whereas the EDP complex gives a mixture of N,N' and N,S isomers at pH 7-9.

On the molecular basis of the recognition of angiotensin II (AII). NMR structure of AII in solution compared with the X-ray structure of AII bound to the mAb Fab131

The high-resolution 3D structure of the octapeptide hormone angiotensin II (AII) in aqueous solution has been obtained by simulated annealing calculations, using high-resolution NMR-derived restraints. After final refinement in explicit water, a family of 13 structures was obtained with a backbone RMSD of 0.73 +/- 0.23 A. AII adopts a fairly compact folded structure, with its C-terminus and N-terminus approaching to within approximately 7.2 A of each other. The side chains of Arg2, Tyr4, Ile5 and His6 are oriented on one side of a plane defined by the peptide backbone, and the Val3 and Pro7 are pointing in opposite directions. The stabilization of the folded conformation can be explained by the stacking of the Val3 side chain with the Pro7 ring and by a hydrophobic cluster formed by the Tyr4, Ile5 and His6 side chains. Comparison between the NMR-derived structure of AII in aqueous solution and the refined crystal structure of the complex of AII with a high-affinity mAb (Fab131) [Garcia, K.C., Ronco, P.M., Verroust, P.J., Brunger, A.T., Amzel, L.M. (1992) Science257, 502-507] provides important quantitative information on two common structural features: (a) a U-shaped structure of the Tyr4-Ile5-His6-Pro7 sequence, which is the most immunogenic epitope of the peptide, with the Asp1 side chain oriented towards the interior of the turn approaching the C-terminus; (b) an Asx-turn-like motif with the side chain aspartate carboxyl group hydrogen-bonded to the main chain NH group of Arg2. It can be concluded that small rearrangements of the epitope 4-7 in the solution structure of AII are required by a mean value of 0.76 +/- 0.03 A for structure alignment and approximately 1.27 +/- 0.02 A for sequence alignment with the X-ray structure of AII bound to the mAb Fab131. These data are interpreted in terms of a biological "nucleus" conformation of the hormone in solution, which requires a limited number of structural rearrangements for receptor-antigen recognition and binding.

Conformational studies on model dipeptides of Gly, L-Ala and their C alpha-substituted analogs

As a part of the development of conformational guidelines for the design of metabolically altered peptidomimetics, we present conformational energy calculations on model dipeptide compounds with glycine (Gly), L-alanine (Ala), alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib), L-tert-butylglycine (Tle), L-phenylglycine (Phg), (alpha, alpha)-diphenylglycine (D phi g), L-2-aminobutyric acid (Abu), 2-amino-2-ethylbutyric acid (Deg), L-2-amino-2-vinylacetic acid (Ava) and (alpha, alpha)-divinylglycine (Dvg). The energy calculations have been made using molecular mechanics methods with a force field derived from MM2. The salient features are expressed in terms of conformational energy plots, drawn as a function of the backbone torsion angles phi(Ci'-1-Ni-Ci alpha i-Ci') and psi(Ni-Ci alpha -C'-N(i+1)). The low-energy structures of these compounds are qualitatively consistent with the X-ray crystal structure analyses of peptides and peptidomimetics. They are also in agreement with the results of the solution-phase studies carried out by NMR and IR techniques. The results obtained have important implications in the design of conformationally restricted peptidomimetics.

Angiotensin II and its 3-7 fragment improve recognition but not spatial memory in rats

The effects of angiotensin II (AII), its 3-7 fragment [AII(3-7)] and the substituted 3-7 fragment [Leu-5,AII(3-7)] given intracerebroventricularly (ICV) at the dose of 1 nmole each, on spatial memory and recognition were tested. AII(3-7) increased while Leu-5,AII(3-7) slightly decreased session to session foot shock reinforced runtime to the goal in a complex 6 chamber maze. The animals treated with AII performed in the maze similarly to saline injected controls. Overall number of errors was unchanged in all peptide treated groups in comparison with the control group. Object recognition was significantly improved in all the peptide treated groups except for the Leu-5,AII(3-7) group. The results point to the facilitation of recognition and lack of influence on, or even attenuation of, spatial memory by AII and its 3-7 fragment. Leu-5,AII(3-7) caused similar though less pronounced effects.

Conformations in solution of angiotensin II, and its 1-7 and 1-6 fragments

High-resolution proton spectra at 620 MHz of human angiotensin II (1-8), angiotensin II (1-7), and angiotensin II (1-6) have been obtained in aqueous solution at acidic pH, and in dimethylsulfoxide solution. Complete chemical shift assignments for all three angiotensin peptides were made based on two-dimensional (2D) correlated spectroscopy and 2D-CA-MELSPIN spectra. Based on the measured values of 3JHNCH, the pattern of observed transverse Overhauser effects, and side-chain coupling constants, it is concluded that all three analogues exist in H2O or DMSO-d6 as a mixture of conformers that is largely extended, with negligible content of folded structures, such as beta-turns, gamma-turns, or helix content. The results fit well with those of Nikiforovich et al.

5,5-Dimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (DTC) as a proline analog with restricted conformation

Spectroscopic evidence is presented for the lack of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in a simple peptide derivative of 5,5-dimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (Dtc). The infrared spectrum of Boc-Pro-Ile-OMe 1 in nonpolar solvents displays two N-H stretching bands at 3419 and 3330 cm-1 in CCl4 and one at 3417 and 3328 cm-1 in CHCl3. The low frequency band at 3328-3330 cm-1 may be assigned to conformations with an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the Ile N-H and Boc C = O. The band at 3417-3419 cm-1 is the normal Ile N-H stretch. In the polar solvent CH3CN only one NH stretching band at 3365 cm-1 is observed. The IR spectrum of Boc-Dtc-Ile-OMe 2, on the other hand, displays one N-H stretching band at 3423 cm-1 in CCl4 and one at 3418 cm-1 in CHCl3. The IR spectrum of 2 does not display the N-H stretching band that would arise from intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the Boc C = O and Ile N-H. The lack of intramolecular hydrogen bonding for Boc-Dtc-Ile-OMe 2 was evident also in the NMR spectra in nonpolar solvents. The 1H-NMR spectrum of the Pro dipeptide 1 in 50% CDCl3/C6D6 at 20 degrees displayed two Ile-NH signals at 6.58 and 7.74 ppm. The latter signal corresponds to the intramolecularly hydrogen bonded Ile-NH in the trans-Boc isomer of 1 (60% of the total population), while the former signal corresponds to the nonhydrogen bonded Ile-NH in the cis-Boc isomer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)