Features of Auxiliaries That Enable Native Chemical Ligation beyond Glycine and Cleavage via Radical Fragmentation.

Native chemical ligation (NCL) is an invaluable tool in the total chemical synthesis of proteins. Ligation auxiliaries overcome the requirement for cysteine. However, the reported auxiliaries remained limited to glycine-containing ligation sites and the acidic conditions applied for cleavage of the typically applied N-benzyl-type linkages promote side reactions. With the aim to improve upon both ligation and cleavage, we systematically investigated alternative ligation scaffolds that challenge the N-benzyl dogma. The study revealed that auxiliary-mediated peptide couplings are fastest when the ligation proceeds via 5-membered rather than 6-membered rings. Substituents in α-position of the amine shall be avoided. We observed, perhaps surprisingly, that additional ß-substituents accelerated the ligation conferred by the ß-mercaptoethyl scaffold. We also describe a potentially general means to remove ligation auxiliaries by treatment with an aqueous solution of triscarboxyethylphosphine (TCEP) and morpholine at pH 8.5. NMR analysis of a 13 C-labeled auxiliary showed that cleavage most likely proceeds through a radical-triggered oxidative fragmentation. High ligation rates provided by ß-substituted 2-mercaptoethyl scaffolds, their facile introduction as well as the mildness of the cleavage reaction are attractive features for protein synthesis beyond cysteine and glycine ligation sites.

Native chemical ligation at a base-labile 4-mercaptobutyrate N(α)-auxiliary.

Native chemical ligation (NCL) proceeds via a S-N acyl shift and, therefore, requires N-terminal cysteine. N(α)-auxiliaries have long been used to enable NCL beyond cysteine. However, the reversibility of the S-N acyl shift under the acidic conditions used to remove the commonly applied N-benzyl auxiliaries limits the scope of this reaction. Herein, we introduce a new class of N(α)-auxiliary which is designed for removal under mild basic conditions. The 3-N-linked 4-mercaptobutyrate auxiliary is readily synthesized in a single step and enables introduction on solid phase by means of reductive amination. The usefulness of the new auxiliary was demonstrated in the synthesis of the anti-microbial C-terminal domain of Dermicidine-1L.

A Type of Auxiliary for Native Chemical Peptide Ligation beyond Cysteine and Glycine Junctions.

Native chemical ligation enables the chemical synthesis of proteins. Previously, thiol-containing auxiliary groups have been used to extend the reaction scope beyond N-terminal cysteine residues. However, the N-benzyl-type auxiliaries used so far result in rather low reaction rates. Herein, a new N(α) -auxiliary is presented. Consideration of a radical fragmentation for cleavage led to the design of a new auxiliary group which is selectively removed under mildly basic conditions (pH 8.5) in the presence of TCEP and morpholine. Most importantly and in contrast to previously described auxiliaries, the 2-mercapto-2-phenethyl auxiliary is not limited to Gly-containing sites and ligations succeed at sterically demanding junctions. The auxiliary is introduced in high yield by on-resin reductive amination with commercially available amino acid building blocks. The synthetic utility of the method is demonstrated by the synthesis of two antimicrobial proteins, DCD-1L and opistoporin-2.

Brightness through local constraint--LNA-enhanced FIT hybridization probes for in vivo ribonucleotide particle tracking.

Imaging the dynamics of RNA in living cells is usually performed by means of transgenic approaches that require modification of RNA targets and cells. Fluorogenic hybridization probes would also allow the analysis of wild-type organisms. We developed nuclease-resistant DNA forced intercalation (FIT) probes that combine the high enhancement of fluorescence upon hybridization with the high brightness required to allow tracking of individual ribonucleotide particles (RNPs). In our design, a single thiazole orange (TO) intercalator dye is linked as a nucleobase surrogate and an adjacent locked nucleic acid (LNA) unit serves to introduce a local constraint. This closes fluorescence decay channels and thereby increases the brightness of the probe-target duplexes. As few as two probes were sufficient to enable the tracking of oskar mRNPs in wild-type living Drosophila melanogaster oocytes.