Oligoindole-based chiral foldamers have been synthesized by incorporating (S)- or (R)-1-phenylethylamine to both ends of the tetraindole scaffold. The oligoindoles fold into a helical conformation upon binding an anion by hydrogen bonds, which gives rise to an induced circular dichroism (CD) signal of large amplitude, implying the preferential formation of one helical isomer over another. Theoretical calculations suggest that the (P)-helix of the (S,S)-oligoindole 8a be more energetically stable than the corresponding (M)-helix.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ol8022243 | DOI Listing |
Molecules
December 2024
Resolute Bio, 48 Dunham Rd., Suite 5400, Beverly, MA 01915, USA.
A systematic structure-activity and computational modeling analysis of a series of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists based upon an ultra-short GLP-1 peptide, H-His-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Bip-Bip-NH2, was conducted. This highly potent 11-mer peptide led to a deeper understanding of the α-helical bias of strategic α-methylation within the linear parent template as well as optimization of GLP-1R agonist potency by 1000-fold. These data were correlated with previously reported co-structures of both full-length GLP-1 analogs and progenitor N-terminal GLP-1 fragment analogs related to such ultra-short GLP-1R agonist peptides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Mol Cell Biol
December 2024
Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Botterell Hall, 18 Stuart Street, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Alanine-rich, alpha-helical type I antifreeze proteins (AFPs) in fishes are thought to have arisen independently in the last 30 Ma on at least four occasions. This hypothesis has recently been proven for flounder and sculpin AFPs, which both originated by gene duplication and divergence followed by substantial gene copy number expansion. Here, we examined the origins of the cunner (wrasse) and snailfish (liparid) AFPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Experimental Medicine & Immunotherapeutics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
We describe a structural and functional study of the G protein-coupled apelin receptor, which binds two endogenous peptide ligands, apelin and Elabela/Toddler (ELA), to regulate cardiovascular development and function. Characterisation of naturally occurring apelin receptor variants from the UK Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project, and AlphaFold2 modelling, identifies T89 as important in the ELA binding site, and R168 as forming extensive interactions with the C-termini of both peptides. Base editing to introduce an R/H168 variant into human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes demonstrates that this residue is critical for receptor binding and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenes Dis
March 2025
Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are heterodimers consisting of a p110 catalytic subunit and a p85 regulatory subunit. The gene, which encodes the p110α, is the most frequently mutated oncogene in cancer. Oncogenic mutations activate the PI3K pathway, promote tumor initiation and development, and mediate resistance to anti-tumor treatments, making the mutant p110α an excellent target for cancer therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Department of Biophysics, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CBR) regulates synaptic transmission in the central nervous system, but also has important roles in the peripheral organs controlling cellular metabolism. While earlier generations of brain penetrant CBR antagonists advanced to the clinic for their effective treatment of obesity, such molecules were ultimately shown to exhibit negative effects on central reward pathways that thwarted their further therapeutic development. The peripherally restricted CBR inverse agonists MRI-1867 and MRI-1891 represent a new generation of compounds that retain the metabolic benefits of CBR inhibitors while sparing the negative psychiatric effects.
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