Eric Argirios Kitas

Allosteric Fbpase Inhibitors Gain 10(5) Times in Potency When Simultaneously Binding Two Neighboring AMP Sites.

Human fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase, EC 3.1.3.11) is a key gluconeogenic enzyme, responsible for the hydrolysis of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, and thus presents an opportunity for the development of novel therapeutics focused on lowering the hepatic glucose production in type 2 diabetics. In its active form FBPase exists as a homotetramer and is allosterically regulated by AMP. In an HTS campaign aromatic sulfonylureas have been identified as FBPase inhibitors mimicking AMP. By bridging two adjacent allosteric binding sites using two aromatic sulfonylureas as anchor units and covalently linking them, it was possible to obtain dual binding AMP site inhibitors that exhibit a strong inhibitory effect.

Novel oligosaccharide mimetics by solid-phase synthesis

The amide-linked tetrasaccharide mimetic 8 is synthesised on a solid phase support from a carbohydrate amino acid building block without hydroxy protection using activation with O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TATU)

Protease-triggered siRNA delivery vehicles.

The safe and efficacious delivery of membrane impermeable therapeutics requires cytoplasmic access without the toxicity of nonspecific cytoplasmic membrane lysis. We have developed a mechanism for control of cytoplasmic release which utilizes endogenous proteases as a trigger and results in functional delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA). The delivery approach is based on reversible inhibition of membrane disruptive polymers with protease-sensitive substrates. Proteolytic hydrolysis upon endocytosis restores the membrane destabilizing activity of the polymers thereby allowing cytoplasmic access of the co-delivered siRNA. Protease-sensitive polymer masking reagents derived from polyethylene glycol (PEG), which inhibit membrane interactions, and N-acetylgalactosamine, which targets asialoglycoprotein receptors on hepatocytes, were synthesized and used to formulate masked polymer-siRNA delivery vehicles. The size, charge and stability of the vehicles enable functional delivery of siRNA after subcutaneous administration and, with modification of the targeting ligand, have the potential for extrahepatic targeting.

Cargo Delivery into the Brain by in vivo identified Transport Peptides

The blood-brain barrier and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier prevent access of biotherapeutics to their targets in the central nervous system and therefore prohibit the effective treatment of neurological disorders. In an attempt to discover novel brain transport vectors in vivo, we injected a T7 phage peptide library and continuously collected blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a cisterna magna cannulated conscious rat model. Specific phage clones were highly enriched in the CSF after four rounds of selection. Validation of individual peptide candidates showed CSF enrichments of greater than 1000-fold. The biological activity of peptide-mediated delivery to the brain was confirmed using a BACE1 peptide inhibitor linked to an identified novel transport peptide which led to a 40% reduction of Amyloid-β in CSF. These results indicate that the peptides identified by the in vivo phage selection approach could be useful transporters for systemically administrated large molecules into the brain with therapeutic benefits.

Sulfonylureido Thiazoles as Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphatase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Type-2 Diabetes.

Sulfonylureido thiazoles were identified from a HTS campaign and optimized through a combination of structure-activity studies, X-ray crystallography and molecular modeling to yield potent inhibitors of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Compound 12 showed favorable ADME properties, for example, F=70%, and a robust 32% glucose reduction in the acute db/db mouse model for Type-2 diabetes.

riDOM, a cell penetrating peptide. Interaction with phospholipid bilayers.

Melittin is an amphipathic peptide which has received much attention as a model peptide for peptide-membrane interactions. It is however not suited as a transfection agent due to its cytolytic and toxicological effects. Retro-inverso-melittin, when covalently linked to the lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (riDOM), eliminates these shortcomings. The interaction of riDOM with phospholipid membranes was investigated with circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and high-sensitivity isothermal titration calorimetry. riDOM forms cationic nanoparticles with a diameter of ~13nm which are well soluble in water and bind with high affinity to DNA and lipid membranes. When dissolved in bilayer membranes, riDOM nanoparticles dissociate and form transient pores. riDOM-induced membrane leakiness is however much reduced compared to that of authentic melittin. The secondary structure of the ri-melittin is not changed when riDOM is transferred from water to the membrane and displays a large fraction of β-structure. The (31)P NMR spectrum of the nanoparticle is however transformed into a typical bilayer spectrum. The Gibbs free energy of riDOM binding to bilayer membranes is -8.0 to -10.0kcal/mol which corresponds to the partition energy of just one fatty acyl chain. Half of the hydrophobic surface of the riDOM lipid extension with its 2 oleic acyl chains is therefore involved in a lipid-peptide interaction. This packing arrangement guarantees a good solubility of riDOM both in the aqueous and in the membrane phase. The membrane binding enthalpy is small and riDOM binding is thus entropy-driven.

Orally Active Aminopyridines as Inhibitors of Tetrameric Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphatase.

A novel sulfonylureido pyridine series exemplified by compound 19 yielded potent inhibitors of FBPase showing significant glucose reduction and modest glycogen lowering in the acute db/db mouse model for Type-2 diabetes. Our inhibitors occupy the allosteric binding site and also extend into the dyad interface region of tetrameric FBPase.

Preparation and use of Nα-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-O-dibenzylphosphono-L-tyrosine in continuous flow solid phase peptide synthesis

N α -Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-O-dibenzylphosphono-L-tyrosine is a useful derivative for the solid phase synthesis of O-phosphotyrosine peptides.

riDOM, a cell-penetrating peptide. Interaction with DNA and heparan sulfate.

DNA condensation in the presence of polycationic molecules is a well-known phenomenon exploited in gene delivery. riDOM (retro-inverso dioleoylmelittin) is a cell-penetrating peptide with excellent transporter properties for DNA. It is a chimeric molecule where ri-melittin is fused to dioleoylphosphoethanolamine. The physical-chemical properties of riDOM in solution and in the presence of DNA and heparan sulfate were investigated with spectroscopic and thermodynamic methods. Dynamic light scattering shows that riDOM in solution aggregates to well-defined nanoparticles with a diameter of ∼13 nm and a ζ-potential of 22 mV, composed of about 220-270 molecules. Binding of riDOM to DNA was studied with dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and isothermal titration calorimetry and was compared with authentic melittin-DNA interaction. riDOM binds tightly to DNA with a microscopic binding constant of 5 × 10(7) M(-1) and a stoichiometry of 12 riDOM per 10 DNA base pairs. In the complex the DNA double strand is completely shielded by the more hydrophobic riDOM molecules. Authentic melittin binds to DNA with a much lower binding constant of 5 × 10(6) M(-1) and lower stoichiometry of 5 melittin per 10 DNA base pairs. The binding enthalpies for riDOM and melittin are small and the binding reactions are entropy-driven. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate are also linear molecules with a negative charge. riDOM binding to heparan sulfate on cell surfaces can therefore interfere with DNA-riDOM binding. riDOM-heparan sulfate complex formation was characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry and spectroscopic methods. The binding constant of riDOM for heparan sulfate is K ≈ 2 × 10(6) M(-1). Authentic melittin has a similar binding constant but riDOM shows a 3-fold higher packing density on heparan sulfate than the distinctly smaller melittin.

Synthesis of triazole-Tethered pyrrolidine libraries: novel ECE inhibitors

The solid-phase synthesis of substituted 1,2,4-triazoles tethered to a 4-mercaptopyrrolidine core 1 is described. This novel class of non-peptidic, Zn(2+) metallo-protease inhibitors was found to have inhibitory activity for the endothelin converting enzyme (ECE-1). The SAR of the substitution pattern in 1 is discussed.