Open AccessDevelopment of Esterase-Resistant and Highly Active Ghrelin Analogs via Thiol–Ene Click Chemistry
Author(s) -
Hao-Zheng Li,
Xin Shao,
LiLi Shou,
Ning Li,
Yali Liu,
Xu Zhai,
ZhanYun Guo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
acs medicinal chemistry letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.065
H-Index - 66
ISSN - 1948-5875
DOI - 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00339
Subject(s) - ghrelin , chemistry , thioether , moiety , orexigenic , click chemistry , thiol , esterase , hydrolysis , biochemistry , combinatorial chemistry , stereochemistry , enzyme , hormone , receptor , neuropeptide y receptor , neuropeptide
The orexigenic peptide ghrelin exerts important functions in energy metabolism and has therapeutic potential to treat certain diseases. Native ghrelin carries an essential O -fatty acyl moiety; however, this post-translational modification is susceptible to hydrolysis by certain esterases in circulation, representing a major route of its in vivo inactivation. In the present study, we developed a novel approach to prepare various esterase-resistant ghrelin analogs via photoinduced thiol-ene click chemistry. A recombinant unacylated human ghrelin mutant was reacted with commercially available terminal alkenes; thus, various alkyl moieties were introduced to the side chain of its unique Cys3 residue via a thioether bond. Among 11 S -alkylated ghrelin analogs, analog 11 , generated by reacting with 2-methyl-1-octene, not only acquired much higher stability in serum but also retained full activity compared with native human ghrelin. Thus, the present study provided an efficient approach to prepare highly stable and highly active ghrelin analogs with therapeutic potential.