SYNTHESIS AND FUNCTIONAL-STUDIES OF TUFTSIN ANALOGS CONTAINING ISOPEPTIDE BOND

In the present paper a new approach is reported, to increase the resistance of tuftsin toward enzymatic cleavage by the introduction of an isopeptide bond into the molecule. The tetrapeptides H-Lys(Thr)-Pro-Arg-OH and H-Lys(Ala)-Pro-Arg-OH, the pentapeptides H-Thr-Lys(Ala)-Pro-Arg-OH, H-Thr-Lys(Thr)-Pro-Arg-OH and H-Ala-Lys(Ala)-Pro-Arg-OH and their For- and Boc-protected derivatives were built up by stepwise elongation of the chain, using conventional solution-phase methods. Preliminary experiments confirmed that from the Lys residue in position 2 of tuftsin the α-peptide bond between the Thr and Lys is cleaved with a significantly higher rate by leucine aminopeptidase than the ε{lunate}-peptide bond. Several of the isopeptide derivatives increased to a higher extent the interleukin (IL-1) secretion by monocytes than tuftsin or [Ala 1 ]-tuftsin. © 1990.