Template-fixed peptidomimetics with antimicrobial activity

#The present invention provides template-fixed β-hairpin peptidomimetics incorporating a template-fixed chain of 12 α-amino acid residues which, depending on their positions in the chain, are Gly or Pro, or of certain types, as defined herein below. These template-fixed β-hairpin mimetics have a selective antimicrobial activity. In addition, the present invention provides efficient synthetic processes by which these compounds can, if desired, be made in parallel library-format. These β-hairpin peptidomimetics show improved efficacy, bioavailability, half-life and most importantly a significantly enhanced ratio between antibacterial activity on the one hand, and hemolysis of red blood cells on the other.

#The growing problem of microbial resistance to established antibiotics has stimulated intense interest in developing novel antimicrobial agents with new modes of action (H. Breithaupt, Nat. Biotechnol. 1999, 17, 1165-1169). One emerging class of antibiotics is based on naturally occurring cationic peptides (T. Ganz, R. I. Lehrer, Mol. Medicine Today 1999, 5, 292-297; R. M. Epand, H. J. Vogel, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1999, 1462, 11-28). These include disulfide-bridged β-hairpin and β-sheet peptides (such as the protegrins [V. N. M.; 0. V. Shamova, H. A. Korneva, R. I. Lehrer, FEBS Lett. 1993, 327, 231-236], tachyplesins [T. Nakamura, H. Furunaka, T. Miyata, F. Tokunaga, T. Muta, S. Iwanaga, M. Niwa, T. Takao, Y. Shimonishi, Y. J. Biol. Chem. 1988, 263, 16709-16713], and the defensins [R. I. Lehrer, A. K. Lichtenstein, T. Ganz, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 1993, 11, 105-128], amphipathic α-helical peptides (e.g. cecropins, dermaseptins, magainins, and mellitins [A. Tossi, L. Sandri, A. Giangaspero, Biopolymers 2000, 55, 4-30]), as well as other linear and loop-structured peptides. Although the mechanisms of action of antimicrobial cationic peptides are not yet fully understood, their primary site of interaction is the microbial cell membrane (H. W. Huang, Biochemistry 2000, 39, 8347-8352). Upon exposure to these agents, the cell membrane undergoes permeabilization, which is followed by rapid cell death. However, more complex mechanisms of action, for example, involving receptor-mediated signaling, cannot presently be ruled out (M. Wu, E. Maier, R. Benz, R. E. Hancock, Biochemistry 1999, 38, 7235-7242).

#The antimicrobial activities of many of these cationic peptides usually correlate with their preferred secondary structures, observed either in aqueous solution or in membrane-like environments (N. Sitaram, R. Nagaraj, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1999, 1462, 29-54). Structural studies by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy have shown that cationic peptides such as protegrin 1 (A. Aumelas, M. Mangoni, C. Roumestand, L. Chiche, E. Despaux, G. Grassy, B. Calas, A. Chavanieu, A. Eur. J. Biochem. 1996, 237, 575-583; R. L. Fahrner, T. Dieckmann, S. S. L. Harwig, R. I. Lehrer, D. Eisenberg, J. Feigon, J. Chem. Biol. 1996, 3, 543-550) and tachyplesin I (K. Kawano, T. Yoneya, T. Miyata, K. Yoshikawa, F. Tokunaga, Y. Terada, S. J. Iwanaga, S. J. Biol. Chem. 1990, 265, 15365-15367) adopt well defined β-hairpin conformations, due to the constraining effect of two disulfide bridges. In protegrin analogues lacking one or both of these disulfide bonds, the stability of the β-hairpin conformation is diminished, and the antimicrobial activity is reduced (J. Chen, T. J. Falla, H. J. Liu, M. A. Hurst, C. A. Fujii, D. A. Mosca, J. R. Embree D. J. Loury, P. A. Radel, C. C. Chang, L. Gu, J. C. Fiddes, Biopolymers 2000, 55, 88-98; S. L. Harwig, A. Waring, H. J. Yang, Y. Cho, L. Tan, R. I. Lehrer, R. J. Eur. J. Biochem. 1996, 240, 352-357; M. E. Mangoni, A. Aumelas, P. Charnet, C. Roumestand, L. Chiche, E. Despaux, G. Grassy, B. Calas, A. Chavanieu, FEBS Lett. 1996, 383, 93-98; H. Tamamura, T. Murakami, S. Noriuchi, K. Sugihara, A. Otaka, W. Takada, T. Ibuka, M. Waki, N. Tamamoto, N. Fujii, Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1995, 43, 853-858). Similar observations have been made in analogues of tachyplesin I (H. Tamamura, R. Ikoma, M. Niwa, S. Funakoshi, T. Murakami, N. Fujii, Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1993, 41, 978-980) and in hairpin-loop mimetics of rabbit defensin NP-2 (S. Thennarasu, R. Nagaraj, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 1999, 254, 281-283). These results show that the β-hairpin structure plays an important role in the antimicrobial activity and stability of these protegrin-like peptides. In the case of the cationic peptides preferring α-helical structures, the amphililic structure of the helix appears to play a key role in determining antimicrobial activity (A. Tossi, L. Sandri, A. Giangaspero, A. Biopolymers 2000, 55, 4-30). Gramicidin S is a backbone-cyclic peptide with a well defined β-hairpin structure (S. E. Hull, R. Karlsson, P. Main, M. M. Woolfson, E. J. Dodson, Nature 1978, 275, 206-275) that displays potent antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (L. H. Kondejewski, S. W. Farmer, D. S. Wishart, R. E. Hancock, R. S. Hodges, Int. J. Peptide Prot. Res. 1996, 47, 460-466). The high hemolytic activity of gramicidin S has, however, hindered its widespread use as an antibiotic. Recent structural studies by NMR have indicated that the high hemolytic activity apparently correlates with the highly amphipathic nature of this cyclic β-hairpin-like molecule, but that it is possible to dissociate antimicrobial and hemolytic activities by modulating the conformation and amphiphilicity (L. H. Kondejewski, M. Jelokhani-Niaraki, S. W. Farmer, B. Lix, M. Kay, B. D. Sykes, R. E. Hancock, R. S. Hodges, J. Biol. Chem. 1999, 274, 13181-13192; C. McInnesL. H. Kondejewski, R. S. Hodges, B. D. Sykes, J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 14287-14294).

#1. Peptide Synthesis

#Coupling of the First Protected Amino Acid Residue to the Resin

#0.5 g of 2-chlorotritylchloride resin (Barlos et al. Tetrahedron Lett. 1989, 30, 3943-3946) (0.83 mMol/g, 0.415 mmol) was filled into a dried flask. The resin was suspended in CH2Cl2 (2.5 ml) and allowed to swell at room temperature under constant stirring for 30 min. The resin was treated with 0.415 mMol (1 eq) of the first suitably protected amino acid residue (see below) and 284 μl (4 eq) of diisopropylethylamine (DIEA) in CH2Cl2 (2.5 ml), the mixture was shaken at 25° C. for 4 hours. The resin was shaken (CH2Cl2/MeOH/DIEA: 17/2/1), 30 ml for 30 min; then washed in the following order with CH2Cl2 (1×), DMF (1×), CH2Cl2 (1×), MeOH (1×), CH2Cl2(1×), MeOH (1×), CH2Cl2 (2×), Et2O (2×) and dried under vacuum for 6 hours.