Biomedical subjects

T Wöhr

Publications and source records attributed to T Wöhr.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Pseudoprolines (psiPro) in drug design: direct insertion of psiPro systems into cyclosporin C.

The insertion of acetals that exhibit variable structural features into complex peptides such as cyclosporin C (CsC) results in oxazolidine derivatives (pseudoprolines, psiPro) of tailored physico-chemical and biological properties. N,O-Acetalation of the 2-threonine hydroxyl group and the preceding amide nitrogen of CsC is achieved by treating the molecule with a number of both arylated and non-arylated dimethyl acetals. The psiPro-containing CsC derivatives exhibit enhanced conformational backbone rigidity, as suggested by analytical HPLC, NMR spectroscopy and by kinetic measurements on binding with their receptor protein cyclophilin A (CypA) that were not time-dependent. IC50 values for calf-thymus CypA were obtained by kinetic evaluation of its cis-->trans isomerase activity. The choice of the para-substituted aryl dimethyl acetals allows the inhibitory properties of the corresponding derivatives to be modulated to either prodrugs or moderately strongly binding cyclosporin C derivatives.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Pseudo-prolines: induction of cis/trans-conformational interconversion by decreased transition state barriers.

Molecular events such as cis/trans isomerization of Xaa-Pro tertiary amide bonds in peptides and proteins are slow on the overall time scale of the formation of a final biostructure and are, therefore, rate limiting. In order to pursue a better understanding of the molecular events underlying such slow interconversions, we applied the recently introduced pseudo-proline (PsiPro) concept as a tool to study the dynamics of Xaa-Pro bonds by determining the kinetics and thermodynamics of cis/trans isomerism. We show that enhanced isomerization rates of tertiary amide bonds prior to a PsiPro unit in short model peptides is due to lowered transition state barriers. In addition, pronounced effects upon the dynamics of the reversible transition between helix I and II of oligoprolines containing one or several PsiPro units were observed.

Chymotrypsin↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pseudo-prolines (psi Pro) for accessing "inaccessible" peptides.

Pseudo-prolines (psi Pro) are introduced as a temporary protection technique for serine, threonine and cysteine side chains in standard Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). The incorporation of these novel building blocks into a growing peptide chain proceeds by means of the coupling of preformed, suitably protected psi Pro dipeptides. For the example of representative model peptides used in protein de novo design, the potential of psi Pro to solubilize otherwise sparingly or completely insoluble peptides is demonstrated. Because of their intrinsic propensity for preventing peptide aggregation and beta-sheet formation, pseudo-prolines offer new possibilities for accessing large peptides by convergent strategies and chemoselective ligation techniques.

Amino Acid Sequence↗