Peptide inhibitors disrupt the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor interaction with phosphatase and tensin homolog to allosterically modulate cellular signaling and behavior.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) signaling through the 5-HT(2C) receptor (5-HT(2C)R) is essential in normal physiology, whereas aberrant 5-HT(2C)R function is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple neural disorders. The 5-HT(2C)R interacts with specific protein partners, but the impact of such interactions on 5-HT(2C)R function is poorly understood. Here, we report convergent cellular and behavioral data that the interaction between the 5-HT(2C)R and protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) serves as a regulatory mechanism to control 5-HT(2C)R-mediated biology but not that of the closely homologous 5-HT(2A)R. A peptide derived from the third intracellular loop of the human 5-HT(2C)R [3L4F (third loop, fourth fragment)] disrupted the association, allosterically augmented 5-HT(2C)R-mediated signaling in live cells, and acted as a positive allosteric modulator in rats in vivo. We identified the critical residues within an 8 aa fragment of the 3L4F peptide that maintained efficacy (within the picomolar range) in live cells similar to that of the 3L4F peptide. Last, molecular modeling identified key structural features and potential interaction sites of the active 3L4F peptides against PTEN. These compelling data demonstrate the specificity and importance of this protein assembly in cellular events and behaviors mediated by 5-HT(2C)R signaling and provide a chemical guidepost to the future development of drug-like peptide or small-molecule inhibitors as neuroprobes to study 5-HT(2C)R allostery and therapeutics for 5-HT(2C)R-mediated disorders.

Substrate specificity and screening of the integral membrane protease Pla.

This paper reports a study to find small peptide substrates for the important virulence factor of Yersinia pestis, plasminogen activator, Pla. The method used to find small substrates for this protease is reported along with studies examining the ability of these peptides to inhibit activity of the enzyme. Through the use of parallel synthesis and positional scanning, small tripeptides were identified that are viable substrates for the protease.

Preparation of a library of unsymmetrical ureas based on 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane scaffold.

This paper reports the preparation of a library of unsymmetrical ureas based on 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane scaffold. The reported synthetic route uses nortropane-8-carbonyl chlorides as key intermediates that, when treated with a slight excess of amine, give the corresponding ureas in high yield (129 examples).

Parallel approach to selective catalysts for palladium-catalyzed desymmetrization of 2,4-cyclopentenediol.

[reaction: see text] Work toward the development of a bis-phosphine ligand system for the palladium-catalyzed desymmetrization of meso-diols is reported. A parallel approach using phosphine-containing amino acids and a "representational search" was taken to find a polymer-supported catalyst system. The selectivities reported are comparable to many other polymer-bound asymmetric catalysts.

High asymmetric induction with beta-turn-derived palladium phosphine complexes.

[reaction: see text] Work toward the development of a bisphosphine ligand system for the palladium-catalyzed addition to cyclic allyl acetates is reported. A parallel approach using phosphine-containing amino acids in conjunction with natural amino acids was used to develop a selective ligand system. The ligand system was examined while attached to the polymer support as well as in solution. Selectivites with the difficult substrate 3-acetoxycyclopentene of up to 95% ee are reported.

Synthesis of phosphine containing amino acids: utilization of peptide synthesis in ligand design.

Combinatorial chemistry has recently burst on the scene as a valuable tool for the discovery of new drug candidates. The ability to synthesize hundreds of compounds for screening is a useful complement to rational drug design. There are many similarities between the design of new therapeutic agents and the development of new asymmetric ligands, the most important of which is the limitation of a rational design strategy. For this reason a program was begun that would allow the use of combinatorial technology in the development of new ligands for transition metal catalyzed asymmetric reactions. Because of the large number of catalytic reactions they are involved in the system was based around phosphine ligands. This paper reports the synthesis of phosphine derivatives of alanine, proline, and the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and hydroxyphenylglycine. Examples of the use of these amino acids in the synthesis of peptides possessing helical and beta-turn secondary structures are presented. Metal complexes of these peptide-based ligands are used in hydrogenation and alkylation reactions.

Catalysis with phosphine-containing amino acids in various "turn" motifs.

We have been actively involved in the development of parallel approaches for the discovery of phosphine ligands. Our approach has been based on the incorporation of phosphine-containing amino acids into peptide sequences that are designed to have stable secondary structures. We have examined helical and turn secondary structures and have reported that alkylation of cyclopentenyl acetate with dimethylmalonate can be catalyzed in high enantiomeric excess (ee) with a beta-turn-based ligand. The importance of the peptide secondary structure was demonstrated through the synthesis of a series of peptide ligands where the nature of the turn-forming residues was probed. Additionally, other turn-forming units and a variety of different phosphine-containing amino acids have been examined for their ability to control the selectivity of the allylation reaction. This paper reports the results obtained through the examination of different turn motifs as well as different phosphine substitutions on the "best" turn sequence, Pps-Pro-d-Xxx-Pps.