Innovative chemical synthesis and conformational hints on the lipopeptide liraglutide

J Pept Sci. 2016 Jul;22(7):471-9. doi: 10.1002/psc.2890. Epub 2016 May 30.

Abstract

Liraglutide is a new generation lipopeptide drug used for the treatment of type II diabetes. In this work, we describe new approaches for its preparation fully by chemical methods. The key step of these strategies is the synthesis in solution of the Lys/γ-Glu building block, Fmoc-Lys-(Pal-γ-Glu-OtBu)-OH, in which Lys and Glu residues are linked through their side chains and γ-Glu is N(α) -palmitoylated. This dipeptide derivative is then inserted into the peptide sequence on solid phase. As liraglutide is obtained with great purity and high yield, our approach can be particularly attractive for an industrial production. We also report here the results of a circular dichroism conformational analysis in a membrane mimetic environment that offers new insights into the mechanism of action of liraglutide. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: circular dichroism; conformational analysis; lipopeptide; liraglutide; peptide synthesis.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Fluorenes / chemistry
  • Glutamic Acid / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / chemical synthesis*
  • Lipopeptides / chemical synthesis*
  • Liraglutide / chemical synthesis*
  • Lysine / chemistry
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Phosphatidylcholines / chemistry
  • Protein Conformation
  • Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate / chemistry
  • Solid-Phase Synthesis Techniques / methods*
  • Trifluoroethanol / chemistry

Substances

  • Fluorenes
  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Lipopeptides
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate
  • Glutamic Acid
  • Trifluoroethanol
  • Liraglutide
  • 1,2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine
  • Lysine