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Total Synthesis of desB30 Insulin Analogues by Biomimetic Folding of Single‐Chain Precursors
Author(s) -
Tofteng A. Pernille,
Jensen Knud J.,
Schäffer Lauge,
HoegJensen Thomas
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.200800430
Subject(s) - insulin , chemistry , proinsulin , disulfide bond , peptide synthesis , peptide , biochemistry , combinatorial chemistry , amino acid , protein engineering , folding (dsp implementation) , enzyme , biology , engineering , electrical engineering , endocrinology
Insulin is a peptide hormone consisting of 51 amino acids in two chains with three disulfide bridges. Human insulin and various analogues are used for the treatment of diabetes and are produced recombinantly at ton scale. Herein, we report the chemical synthesis of insulin by the step‐wise, Fmoc‐based, solid‐phase synthesis of single‐chain precursors with solubilising extensions, which under redox conditions, spontaneously fold with the correct pairing of the three disulfide bridges. The folded, single‐chain, insulin precursors can be transformed into bioactive two‐chain desB30 insulin by the simultaneous removal of the solubilising extension (4–5 residues) and the chain‐bridging C‐peptide (3–5 residues) by employing Achromobacter lyticus protease—a process well‐known from the yeast‐based recombinant production of insulin. The overall yields of synthetic insulins were as much as 6 %, and the synthetic process was straightforward and not labour intensive.