Jumpei Morimoto

Designed to inhibit: by using the random nonstandard peptide integrated discovery (RaPID) system, highly potent isoform-selective inhibitors can be identified from a library of nonstandard macrocyclic peptides. These inhibitors, which contain a mechanism-based warhead residue, are active against the human deacetylase SIRT2, with IC(50) values in the low nanomolar region.

Transfer RNA (tRNA) is an essential component of the cell's translation apparatus. These RNA strands contain the anticodon for a given amino acid, and when "charged" with that amino acid are termed aminoacyl-tRNA. Aminoacylation, which occurs exclusively at one of the 3'-terminal hydroxyl groups of tRNA, is catalyzed by a family of enzymes called aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs). In a primitive translation system, before the advent of sophisticated protein-based enzymes, this chemical event cou

The term "peptoids" was introduced decades ago to describe peptide analogues that exhibit better physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties than peptides. Oligo(<i>N</i>-substituted glycine) (oligo-NSG) was previously proposed as a peptoid due to its high proteolytic resistance and membrane permeability. However, oligo-NSG is conformationally flexible, and ensuring a defined shape in water is difficult. This conformational flexibility severely limits the biological application of oligo-NSG.

Schnell und flexibel: Mit dem RaPID-System werden hochpotente isoformselektive Inhibitoren aus einer Bibliothek von makrocyclischen Peptiden identifiziert (siehe Bild). Diese Peptide, die eine mit dem FIT-System exprimierte Warhead-Einheit tragen, inhibieren die humane Desacetylase SART2 mit IC50-Werten im niedrigen nanomolaren Bereich. RaPID=randomisierte integrierte Peptidsuche, FIT=flexible In-vitro-Translation.

Molecules able to bind the antigen-binding sites of antibodies are of interest in medicine and immunology. Since most antibodies are bivalent, higher affinity recognition can be achieved through avidity effects in which a construct containing two or more copies of the ligand engages both arms of the immunoglobulin simultaneously. This can be achieved routinely by immobilizing antibody ligands at high density on solid surfaces, such as ELISA plates, but there is surprisingly little literature on

Abstract Large combinatorial libraries of macrocyclic peptides are a useful source of bioactive compounds. However, peptides are not generally cell permeable, so there is great interest in the development of methods to create large libraries of modified peptides. In particular, N-alkylation of peptides is known to improve their bioavailability significantly. Incorporation of some level of N-methylated amino acids into peptide libraries has been accomplished with ribosome display or related metho

The development of inhibitors of intracellular protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is of great significance for drug discovery, but the generation of a cell-permeable molecule with high affinity to protein is challenging. Oligo(<i>N</i>-substituted glycines) (oligo-NSGs), referred to as peptoids, are attractive as potential intracellular PPI inhibitors owing to their high membrane permeability. However, their intrinsically flexible backbones make the rational design of inhibitors difficult. Here

Cyclic peptides that passively penetrate cell membranes are under active investigation in drug discovery research. PAMPA (Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay) and Caco-2 assay are mainly used for permeability measurements in these studies. However, permeability rates across the artificial membrane and the cell monolayer used for these assays are intrinsically different from the ones across pure lipid bilayers. There are also membrane permeability assays for peptides using reconstruct

Unique folded structures of natural and synthetic oligomers are the most fundamental basis for their unique functions. <i>N</i>-Substituted β-peptides, or β-peptoids, are synthetic oligomers with great potential to fold into diverse three-dimensional structures because of the existence of four rotatable bonds in a monomer with highly modular synthetic accessibility. However, the existence of the four rotatable bonds poses a challenge for conformational control of β-peptoids. Here, we report a st

A new submonomeric synthetic method of β-peptoids that allows introduction of chiral backbone substituents is established. The synthesis of β-peptoids with various backbone substituents on β-carbons and spectroscopic studies of synthesized oligomers are described.

Here, we investigated the effect of CH₃ to CF₃ substitution on the membrane permeability of peptides. We synthesized a series of peptides with CF₃ groups and corresponding nonfluorinated peptides and measured the membrane permeability of the peptides. As a result, we demonstrated that CH₃ to CF₃ substitution is useful for increasing the membrane permeability of di-/tri-peptides.

Here, we report a facile permeability assay to quantitatively evaluate the membrane permeability of multiple peptides in parallel. With a fluorogenic click reaction between azidocoumarin and a terminal alkyne tag introduced on a peptide, the peptide that crossed an artificial membrane or a cell monolayer was quantitatively detected. The method allows a rapid measurement of the permeability of multiple compounds on a plate reader even in the presence of a complex mixture of biological molecules.

Backbone stereochemistry of cyclic peptides has been reported to have a great influence on microsomal stability and membrane permeability, two important factors that determine oral bioavailability. Here, we comprehensively investigated the correlation between the backbone stereochemistry of cyclic hexapeptide stereoisomers and their stability in liver microsomes, as well as passive membrane permeability.

Functionalizable synthetic molecules with nanometer sizes and defined shapes in water are useful as molecular scaffolds to mimic the functions of biomacromolecules and develop chemical tools for manipulating biomacromolecules. Herein, we propose oligo(N-methylalanine) (oligo-NMA) as a peptide-based molecular scaffold with a minimal structure and a high density of functionalizable sites. Oligo-NMA forms a defined shape in water without hydrogen-bonding networks or ring constraints, which enables