Discovery of a novel series of guanidinebenzoates as gut-restricted enteropeptidase and trypsin dual inhibitors for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

A novel series of guanidinebenzoate enteropeptidase and trypsin dual inhibitors has been discovered and SAR studies were conducted. Optimization was focused on improving properties for gut restriction, including increased aqueous solubility, lower cellular permeability, and reduced oral bioavailability. Lead compounds were identified with efficacy in a mouse fecal protein excretion study.

Identification and Target-Modification of SL-BBI: A Novel Bowman-Birk Type Trypsin Inhibitor from Sylvirana latouchii.

The peptides from the ranacyclin family share similar active disulphide loop with plant-derived Bowman-Birk type inhibitors, some of which have the dual activities of trypsin inhibition and antimicrobial. Herein, a novel Bowman-Birk type trypsin inhibitor of the ranacyclin family was identified from the skin secretion of broad-folded frog (Sylvirana latouchii) by molecular cloning method and named as SL-BBI. After chemical synthesis, it was proved to be a potent inhibitor of trypsin with a Ki value of 230.5 nM and showed weak antimicrobial activity against tested microorganisms. Modified analogue K-SL maintains the original inhibitory activity with a Ki value of 77.27 nM while enhancing the antimicrobial activity. After the substitution of active P1 site to phenylalanine and P2' site to isoleucine, F-SL regenerated its inhibitory activity on chymotrypsin with a Ki value of 309.3 nM and exhibited antiproliferative effects on PC-3, MCF-7 and a series of non-small cell lung cancer cell lines without cell membrane damage. The affinity of F-SL for the ß subunits in the yeast 20S proteasome showed by molecular docking simulations enriched the understanding of the possible action mode of Bowman-Birk type inhibitors. Further mechanistic studies have shown that F-SL can activate caspase 3/7 in H157 cells and induce apoptosis, which means it has the potential to become an anticancer agent.

Protein-Induced Change in Ligand Protonation during Trypsin and Thrombin Binding: Hint on Differences in Selectivity Determinants of Both Proteins?

Trypsin and thrombin, structurally similar serine proteases, recognize different substrates; thrombin cleaves after Arg, whereas trypsin cleaves after Lys/Arg. Both recognize basic substrate headgroups via Asp189 at the bottom of the S1 pocket. By crystallography and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), we studied a series of d-Phe/d-DiPhe-Pro-(amino)pyridines. Identical ligand pairs show the same binding poses. Surprisingly, one ligand binds to trypsin in protonated state and to thrombin in unprotonated state at P1 along with differences in the residual solvation pattern. While trypsin binding is mediated by an ordered water molecule, in thrombin, water is scattered over three hydration sites. Although having highly similar S1 pockets, our results suggest different electrostatic properties of Asp189 possibly contributing to the selectivity determinant. Thrombin binds a specific Na+ ion next to Asp189, which is absent in trypsin. The electrostatic properties across the S1 pocket are further attenuated by charged Glu192 at the rim of S1 in thrombin, which is replaced by uncharged Gln192 in trypsin.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of small-molecular di-basic esters, amides and carbamates as flaviviral protease inhibitors.

Inhibitors of the flaviviral serine proteases, which are crucial for the replication of dengue and West-Nile virus, have attracted much attention over the last years. A dibasic 4-guanidinobenzoate was previously reported as inhibitor of the dengue protease with potency in the low-micromolar range. In the present study, this lead structure was modified with the intent to explore structure-activity relationships and obtain compounds with increased drug-likeness. Substitutions of the guanidine moieties, the aromatic rings, and the ester with other functionalities were evaluated. All changes were accompanied by a loss of inhibition, indicating that the 4-guanidinobenzoate scaffold is an essential element of this compound class. Further experiments indicate that the target recognition of the compounds involves the reversible formation of a covalent adduct.

Trypsin inhibitors: promising candidate satietogenic proteins as complementary treatment for obesity and metabolic disorders?

The increase in non-communicable chronic diseases has aroused interest in the research of adjuvants to the classic forms of treatments. Obesity and metabolic syndrome are the main targets of confrontation because they relate directly to other chronic diseases. In this context, trypsin inhibitors, molecules with wide heterologous application, appear as possibilities in the treatment of overweight and obesity due to the action on satiety related mechanisms, mainly in the modulation of satiety hormones, such as cholecystokinin. In addition, trypsin inhibitors have the ability to also act on some biochemical parameters related to these diseases, thus, emerging as potential candidates and promising molecules in the treatment of the obesity and metabolic syndrome. Thus, the present article proposes to approach, through a systematic literature review, the advantages, disadvantages and viabilities for the use of trypsin inhibitors directed to the treatment of overweight and obesity.

Development of a novel, high-affinity ssDNA trypsin inhibitor.

Inhibitors of serine proteases are not only extremely useful in the basic research but are also applied extensively in clinical settings. Using Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) approach we developed a family of novel, single-stranded DNA aptamers capable of specific trypsin inhibition. Our most potent candidate (T24) and its short version (T59) were thoroughly characterised in terms of efficacy. T24 and T59 efficiently inhibited bovine trypsin with Ki of 176 nM and 475 nM, respectively. Interestingly, in contrast to the majority of known trypsin inhibitors, the selected aptamers have superior specificity and did not interact with porcine trypsin or any human proteases tested. These included plasmin and thrombin characterised by trypsin-like substrate specificity. Our results demonstrate that SELEX may be successfully employed in the development of potent and specific DNA based protease inhibitors.

Benzoxazin-4-ones as novel, easily accessible inhibitors for rhomboid proteases.

Rhomboid proteases form one of the most widespread intramembrane protease families. They have been implicated in variety of human diseases. The currently reported rhomboid inhibitors display some selectivity, but their construction involves multistep synthesis protocols. Here, we report benzoxazin-4-ones as novel inhibitors of rhomboid proteases with a covalent, but slow reversible inhibition mechanism. Benzoxazin-4-ones can be synthesized from anthranilic acid derivatives in a one-step synthesis, making them easily accessible. We demonstrate that an alkoxy substituent at the 2-position is crucial for potency and results in low micromolar inhibitors of rhomboid proteases. Hence, we expect that these compounds will allow rapid synthesis and optimization of inhibitors of rhomboids from different organisms.

Trypsin inhibitors for the treatment of pancreatitis.

Proline-based trypsin inhibitors occupying the S1-S2-S1' region were identified by an HTS screening campaign. It was discovered that truncation of the P1' moiety and appropriate extension into the S4 region led to highly potent trypsin inhibitors with excellent selectivity against related serine proteases and a favorable hERG profile.

Miniature bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitors (m-BPTIs) of the West Nile virus NS2B-NS3 protease.

The mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) causes a wide range of symptoms ranging from fever to the often fatal viral encephalitis. To date, no vaccine or drug therapy is available. The trypsin-like WNV NS2B-NS3 protease is deemed a plausible drug target and was shown to be inhibited by bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), a 58-residue protein isolated from bovine lung. Herein, we report a protein truncation study that resulted in a novel 14-residue cyclic peptide with equipotent inhibitory activity to native BPTI. We believe our truncation strategy can be further applied in the development of peptide-based inhibitors targeting trypsin-like proteases.

Synthesis and Characterization of Dioctanoyl Glycerate as Water-soluble Trypsin Inhibitor.

Glyceric acids (GAs) esterified with long acyl chains (> C16) exhibit antitrypsin activity (Folia Microbiol. 46, 21-23 (2001)). However, their hydrophobic nature, derived from the long acyl chains, has limited the number of studies on their physical and biological properties. To improve the water solubility of diacyl GAs, GA was esterified with octanoyl groups (C8), and its physical properties were investigated. Synthesized dioctanoyl GA was not water-soluble, whereas its sodium salt was. Surface tension measurements of dioctanoyl GA sodium salt (diC8GA-Na) in water revealed that the critical micelle concentration (CMC) was 0.82 mM, and surface tension at the CMC was 25.5 mN/m. Additionally, diC8GA-Na inhibited casein digestion by trypsin to a greater extent than dioleoyl GA. These data suggest that water-soluble diacyl GAs may have utility as surfactants and bioactive compounds.

Enzymatic synthesis of hyaluronan hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitor.

Human urinary trypsin inhibitor is a proteoglycan that has a single low-sulfated chondroitin 4-sulfate chain at the seryl residue in position 10 of the core protein as a glycosaminoglycan moiety, and is used as an anti-inflammatory medicine based on the protease inhibitory activity of the core protein. However, the functions of the glycosaminoglycan moiety have not yet been elucidated in detail. In the present study, the glycosaminoglycan chains of a native urinary trypsin inhibitor were remodeled to hyaluronan chains, with no changes to the core protein, using transglycosylation as a reverse reaction of the hydrolysis of bovine testicular hyaluronidase, and the properties of the hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitor were then analyzed. The trypsin inhibitory activitiy of the hyaluronan hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitor was similar to that of the native type; however, its inhibitory effect on the hydrolysis of hyaluronidase were not as strong as that of the native type. This result demonstrated that the native urinary trypsin inhibitor possessed hyaluronidase inhibitory activity on its chondroitin sulfate chain. The hyaluronan hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitors obtained affinity to a hyaluronan-binding protein not exhibited by the native type. The interactions between the hyaluronan hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitors and phosphatidylcholine (abundant in the outer layer of plasma membrane) were stronger than that of the native type. Hyaluronan hybrid urinary trypsin inhibitors may be useful for investigating the functions of the glycosaminoglycan chains of urinary trypsin inhibitors and hyaluronan, and our hybrid synthesizing method may be used widely in research for future medical applications.

Investigation of Serine-Proteinase-Catalyzed Peptide Splicing in Analogues of Sunflower Trypsin Inhibitor†1 (SFTI-1).

Serine-proteinase-catalyzed peptide splicing was demonstrated in analogues of the trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1: both single peptides and two-peptide chains (C- and N-terminal peptide chains linked by a disulfide bridge). In the second series, peptide splicing with catalytic amount of proteinase was observed only when formation of acyl-enzyme intermediate was preceded by hydrolysis of the substrate Lys-Ser peptide bond. Here we demonstrate that with an equimolar amount of the proteinase, splicing occurs in all the two-peptide-chain analogues. This conclusion was supported by high resolution crystal structures of selected analogues in complex with trypsin. We showed that the process followed a direct transpeptidation mechanism. Thus, the acyl-enzyme intermediate was formed and was immediately used for a new peptide bond formation; products associated with the hydrolysis of the acyl-enzyme were not observed. The peptide splicing was sequence- not structure-specific.

Inhibitors of Matriptase-2 Based on the Trypsin Inhibitor SFTI-1.

A series of 17 new analogues of trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1 were designed and synthesized to obtain matriptase-2 inhibitors. A number of the modified bicyclic peptides displayed much higher affinity towards matriptase-2 than towards the highly homologous matriptase-1. Replacement of Lys5 by Arg in the wild-type SFTI-1 led to an 11-fold increase in the matriptase-2 inhibitory activity. Replacement of Arg2 by its enantiomer (D-arginine) slightly lowered the inhibition of matriptase-2, but almost completely abolished the affinity towards matriptase-1, thus yielding the most selective matriptase-2 inhibitor. This is the first report describing inhibitors of the recently discovered matriptase-2 based on the SFTI-1 structure. The results showed that SFTI-1 is a promising scaffold for the design of potent and selective inhibitors of this enzyme.

In vivo efficacy of anuran trypsin inhibitory peptides against staphylococcal skin infection and the impact of peptide cyclization.

Staphylococcus aureus is a virulent pathogen that is responsible for a wide range of superficial and invasive infections. Its resistance to existing antimicrobial drugs is a global problem, and the development of novel antimicrobial agents is crucial. Antimicrobial peptides from natural resources offer potential as new treatments against staphylococcal infections. In the current study, we have examined the antimicrobial properties of peptides isolated from anuran skin secretions and cyclized synthetic analogues of these peptides. The structures of the peptides were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, revealing high structural and sequence similarity with each other and with sunflower trypsin inhibitor 1 (SFTI-1). SFTI-1 is an ultrastable cyclic peptide isolated from sunflower seeds that has subnanomolar trypsin inhibitory activity, and this scaffold offers pharmaceutically relevant characteristics. The five anuran peptides were nonhemolytic and noncytotoxic and had trypsin inhibitory activities similar to that of SFTI-1. They demonstrated weak in vitro inhibitory activities against S. aureus, but several had strong antibacterial activities against S. aureus in an in vivo murine wound infection model. pYR, an immunomodulatory peptide from Rana sevosa, was the most potent, with complete bacterial clearance at 3 mg · kg(-1). Cyclization of the peptides improved their stability but was associated with a concomitant decrease in antimicrobial activity. In summary, these anuran peptides are promising as novel therapeutic agents for treating infections from a clinically resistant pathogen.

Identification of Novel Proteasome Inhibitors from an Enaminone Library.

A library of structurally distinct enaminones was synthesized using sonication or Ru(II) catalysis to couple primary, secondary, and tertiary thioamides with α-halocarbonyls or α-diazocarbonyls. Screening the library for proteasome inhibition using a luciferase-based assay identified seven structurally diverse compounds. Two of these molecules targeted luciferase, while the remaining five exhibited varying potency and specificity for the trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like, or caspase-like protease activities of the proteasome. Physiological relevance was confirmed by showing these molecules inhibited proteasomal degradation of the full-length protein substrate p21cip1 expressed in tissue culture cells. A cell viability analysis revealed that the proteasome inhibitors differentially affected cell survival. Results indicate a subset of enaminones and precursor molecules identified in this study are good candidates for further development into novel proteasome inhibitors with potential therapeutic value.

Fluorescent analogs of trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1 isolated from sunflower seeds--synthesis and applications.

This article describes the synthesis and enzymatic study of newly synthesized analogs of trypsin inhibitors SFTI-1 that were fluorescent labeled on their N-terminal amino groups. Two fluorescent derivatives of benzoxazole (3-[2-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)benzoxazol-5-yl]-L-alanine-[(4NPh2 )Ph]Box-Ala and 3-[2-(2',4',5'-trimethoxyphenyl)benzoxazol-5-yl]-L-alanine-[2,4,5-(OMe)3Ph]Box-Ala) were used as efficient fluorescent labels. The compounds obtained preserved their inhibitory activity and were efficient inhibitors of bovine trypsin or chymotrypsin. Nevertheless, their association inhibition constants were one or two orders of magnitude lower than those determined for unlabeled monocyclic SFTI-1 or [Phe(5)]SFTI-1, respectively. The conjugates obtained were found to be proteolytically stable in the presence of cognate enzymes. Applying such fluorescent peptides, we were able to investigate enzyme-inhibitor complex formation using fluorescent techniques. We found that such compounds were rapidly internalized by the fibroblast or cancer cells with no cytotoxic effects.

Amino and chlorambucil analogues of pentamidine--synthesis and biological examinations.

The amino analogues of pentamidine with a polymethylene (n = 3 - 6) chain and their chlorambucil derivatives were synthesized. The obtained compounds revealed cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line (IC50 = 22 - 95 +/- 2 pM), mainly by the induction of apoptosis. The topoisomerase I/II inhibition assay and the ethidium displacement assay with the use of pBR322 plasmid DNA were used to the study of mechanism by which the obtained compounds could act. All the compounds are able to bind with DNA and interfere in vitro with the activity of topoisomerase (I and II). The determination of association constants with the use of calf thymus DNA, T4 coliphage DNA, poly(dA-dT)2 and poly(dG-dC)2 showed that the tested compounds bind within minor groove of B-DNA, but not selectively. The alkylating activity of chlorambucil derivatives determined in vitro using a Preussmann test was similar to the activity of chlorambucil. The influence of all the compounds on the amidolytic activity of plasmin and trypsin was also examined. The plasmin activity was inhibited by pentamidine, chlorambucil and aromatic bis-amines (IC50 = 0.1 - 8 mM), whereas the trypsin activity was influenced only by pentamidine.

Inhibition mechanism of trypsin by Schiff base metal chelate inhibitors.

Studies on trypsin-specific compounds are useful for the design of clinically useful compounds. It is well known that several benzamidine derivatives are potent competitive inhibitors of trypsin and trypsin-like enzymes. Many kinds of Schiff base metal chelate containing either amidine or guanidine have been synthesized and their inhibitory activities against trypsin have been characterized. Recently, the interactions of the Schiff base metal chelate inhibitors with trypsin enzyme have been determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. The structural information and inhibitory activity data for amidine- and guanidine-containig Schiff base metal chelate inhibitors provide new avenues for designing novel inhibitors against physiologically important trypsin-like serine proteases.

Synthesis and evaluation of dioleoyl glyceric acids showing antitrypsin activity.

Previously, Lesová et al. reported the isolation and identification of metabolite OR-1, showing antitrypsin activity, produced during fermentation by Penicillium funiculosum. The structure of OR-1 was a mixture of glyceric acid (GA), esterified with C(14)-C(18) fatty acids, and oleic acid (C18:1) as the most predominant fatty acid (Folia Microbiol. 46, 21-23, 2001). In this study, dioleoyl D-GA and dioleoyl L-GA were synthesized via diesterification with oleoyl chloride, and their antitrypsin activities were evaluated using both a disk diffusion method and spectral absorption measurements. The results show that both compounds and their equivalent mixtures possess antitrypsin activities; however, their IC(50) values (approximately 2 mM) are much higher than that of OR-1 (4.25 µM), suggesting that dioleoyl GA does not play a major role in the OR-1 antitrypsin activity.

Selective inactivation of serine proteases by nonheme iron complexes.

Oxidative inactivation of the serine proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin by nonheme iron complexes is described. The nonheme ligands N4Py (1) and derivative 3CG-N4Py (2), which contains a pendant guanidinium group, were used as ligands for iron. Ferryl (Fe(IV)O) species derived from these ligands, [Fe(IV)(O)(N4Py)](2+) (7) and [Fe(IV)(O)(3CG-N4Py)](3+) (8), inactivate trypsin and chymotrypsin by the oxidation of amino acid side chains. Ferryl 8 is most effective with chymotrypsin (IC(50) value of 26 µM for 8 vs 119 µM for 7). IC(50) values of 71 and 54 µM were obtained for trypsin with 7 and 8, respectively. Amino acid analysis confirmed that residues cysteine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are oxidized under these conditions. Trypsin is inactivated preferentially over chymotrypsin under catalytic conditions, where the enzyme was pulsed with H(2)O(2) in the presence of ferrous complexes [Fe(II)(OH(2))(N4Py)](2+)(5) and [Fe(II)(Cl)(3CG-N4Py)](2+) (6). Control experiments support the action of a unique oxidant, other than ferryls or hydroxyl radicals, under these conditions, where tyrosine residues are targeted selectively.