Yoshiharu Minamitake

Novel natriuretic peptide, CNP, potently stimulates cyclic GMP production in rat cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.

The newly identified peptide C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) caused only a slight elevation of cGMP in rat renal glomeruli. In contrast, CNP potently increased cGMP levels in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and stimulated guanylate cyclase activity in the particulate fraction of the cells. The extent of maximum activation of the enzyme induced by CNP was 4-fold higher than that by human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP) while CNP was 4- and 16-fold weaker than alpha-hANP in binding affinity for the putative receptors on VSMC and vasorelaxant activity for rat aorta, respectively. These results indicate that CNP is a potent stimulator of cGMP formation in VSMC but not in glomeruli and pharmacological feature of CNP is distinct from that of ANP.

A molluscan neuropeptide related to the crustacean hormone, RPCH.

A peptide that potentiates twitch contraction of the radula retractor muscle of the prosobranch mollusc Fusinus ferrugineus was isolated from the ganglia of the animal. Its primary structure is H-Ala-Pro-Gly-Trp-NH2 (APGWamide) closely related to the C-terminal tetrapeptide of the crustacean red-pigment-concentrating hormone. APGWamide showed modulatory actions on contractions in various molluscan muscles.

Structural requirements of C-type natriuretic peptide for elevation of cyclic GMP in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), which was recently found to be a selective ligand for one of the two known natriuretic peptide receptor guanylyl cyclases (NPR-B), potently stimulates cGMP production in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and exerts potent antiproliferative effects on the cells. To investigate the structural requirements of CNP for stimulation of cGMP accumulation via NPR-B, we prepared CNP analogs and tested them on cultured rat VSMC. Our results indicate that only the ring portion of CNP with a disulfide bond (CNP(6-22)) participates in stimulation of cGMP accumulation, especially the sequence Leu9-Lys10-Leu11 in the ring portion executes essential roles for both elevation of cGMP and selectivity of the ligand for NPR-B. We also found a good correlation between the activities of the CNP analogs for stimulation of cGMP accumulation and inhibition of DNA synthesis.

Ghrelin improves body weight loss and skeletal muscle catabolism associated with angiotensin II-induced cachexia in mice

Ghrelin is a gastric peptide that regulates energy homeostasis. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is known to induce body weight loss and skeletal muscle catabolism through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. In this study, we investigated the effects of ghrelin on body weight and muscle catabolism in mice treated with Ang II. The continuous subcutaneous administration of Ang II to mice for 6 days resulted in cardiac hypertrophy and significant decreases in body weight gain, food intake, food efficiency, lean mass, and fat mass. In the gastrocnemius muscles of Ang II-treated mice, the levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) were decreased, and the levels of mRNA expression of catabolic factors were increased. Although the repeated subcutaneous injections of ghrelin (1.0mg/kg, twice daily for 5 days) did not affect cardiac hypertrophy, they resulted in significant body weight gains and improved food efficiencies and tended to increase both lean and fat mass in Ang II-treated mice. Ghrelin also ameliorated the decreased IGF-1 levels and the increased mRNA expression levels of catabolic factors in the skeletal muscle. IGF-1 mRNA levels in the skeletal muscle significantly decreased 24h after Ang II infusion, and this was reversed by two subcutaneous injections of ghrelin. In C2C12-derived myocytes, the dexamethasone-induced mRNA expression of atrogin-1 was decreased by IGF-1 but not by ghrelin. In conclusion, we demonstrated that ghrelin improved body weight loss and skeletal muscle catabolism in mice treated with Ang II, possibly through the early restoration of IGF-1 mRNA in the skeletal muscle and the amelioration of nutritional status.

The role of C-terminal part of ghrelin in pharmacokinetic profile and biological activity in rats.

Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHS-R1a), and consists of 28 amino acid residues with octanoyl modification at Ser(3). The previous studies have revealed that N-terminal part of ghrelin including modified Ser(3) is the active core for the activation of GHS-R1a. On the other hand, the role of C-terminal (8-28) region in ghrelin has not been clarified yet. In the present study, we prepared human ghrelin, C-terminal truncated ghrelin derivatives and anamorelin, a small molecular GHS compound which supposedly mimics the N-terminal active core, and examined GHS-R1a agonist activity in vitro, pharmacokinetic (PK) profile and growth hormone (GH) releasing activity in rats. All compounds demonstrated potent GHS-R1a agonist activities in vitro. Although the lack of C-terminal two amino acids did not modify PK profile and GH releasing activity, the deletion of C-terminal 8 and 20 amino acids affected them, and ghrelin(1-7)-Lys-NH(2) exhibited very short plasma half-life and low GH releasing activity in vivo. In rat plasma, ghrelin(1-7)-Lys-NH(2) was degraded more rapidly than ghrelin, suggesting that C-terminal part of ghrelin protected octanoylation of Ser(3) from plasma esterases. Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy significantly attenuated GH response to ghrelin but not to anamorelin. These results suggest that the C-terminal part of ghrelin has an important role in the biological activity in vivo. We also found that ghrelin stimulated GH release mainly via a vagal nerve pathway but anamorelin augmented GH release possibly by directly acting on brain in rats.

Linear α-human atrial natriuretic peptide analogs display receptor binding activity and inhibit α-hANP-induced cGMP accumulation

Abstract We have synthesized a series of [Cys(R)7,23]α-hANP analogs, in which the two Cys residues were modified with various alkyl groups(R); i.e., R=Acm, Pe, Qe, Cam, Me, Ae, Bzl, Cm, Ocam and sulfo. The Acm-, Cam-, and Me-analogs exhibited binding activity as potent as α-hANP in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Binding activity of the analogs decreased progressively as the bulkiness of the R group increased. None of the analogs caused accumulation of cGMP in VSMC and vasorelaxant activity in rat aorta. Acm-, Cam- and Me-analogs substantially antagonized α-hANP-induced cGMP accumulation, but did not antagonize vasorelaxation induced by α-hANPin vitro.

Design and evaluation of novel natriuretic peptide derivatives with improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties

HIGHLIGHTSVerification and evaluation of properties of the C‐terminal portion of ghrelin.Approaches to improve stability, bioavailability and bioactivity of CNP.CNP/ghrelin chimeric peptide as a new therapeutic candidate for growth failure. ABSTRACT C‐type natriuretic peptide (CNP) and its receptor, natriuretic peptide receptor B (NPR‐B), are potent positive regulators of endochondral bone growth, making the CNP pathway one of the most promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of growth failure. However, the administration of exogenous CNP is not fully effective, due to its rapid clearance in vivo. Modification of CNP to potentially druggable derivatives may result in increased resistance to proteolytic degradation, longer plasma half‐life (T1/2), and better distribution to target tissues. In the present study, we designed and evaluated CNP/ghrelin chimeric peptides as novel CNP derivatives. We have previously reported that the ghrelin C‐terminus increases peptide metabolic stability. Therefore, we combined the 17‐membered, internal disulfide ring portion of CNP with the C‐terminal portion of ghrelin. The resultant peptide displayed improved biokinetics compared to CNP, with increased metabolic stability and longer plasma T1/2. Repeated subcutaneous administration of the chimeric peptide to mice resulted in a significant acceleration in longitudinal growth, whereas CNP(1–22) did not. These results suggest that the ghrelin C‐terminus improves the stability of CNP, and the chimeric peptide may be useful as a novel therapeutic agent for growth failure and short stature.

A new strategy for metabolic stabilization of motilin using the C-terminal part of ghrelin.

Ghrelin consists of 28 amino acid residues with an octanoyl modification at the third serine residue. Recently we have found that the C-terminal part of ghrelin protects the ester bond of 3-octanoyled serine from plasma esterases and plays the essential role to prolong the plasma half-life and to show its biological activity in vivo. In the present study, we researched whether the C-terminal part of ghrelin has a potential to prolong the plasma half-life of motilin, by comparing the pharmacokinetics of various chimeric peptides of ghrelin and motilin. Motilin is another gastro-intestinal peptide hormone related with ghrelin structurally, binding to the same family of G protein-coupled receptors. Chimeric peptides were designed to be composed of motilin(1-12) fragment, the active core binding to the motilin receptor, GPR38, and C-terminal part of ghrelin. The modification of motilin(1-12) fragment by C-terminal part of ghrelin hardly influenced its agonist activity to GPR38 and almost all these chimeric peptides showed more than two times longer plasma half-lives than motilin in rats. From the relationship between structures of chimeric peptides and their corresponding plasma half-lives, the mid-region of ghrelin rich in basic amino acids ((15)RKESKK(20)) was considered to be the most important in prolonging the plasma half-life of motilin. The deletion of these fragments or replacement of 17th glutamic acid with a neutral amino acid resulted in short plasma half-lives. In conclusion, our data suggested that the C-terminal part of ghrelin has a potential to improve the biokinetics of motilin probably by a metabolic stabilizing effect.

Human Calcitonin Delivered Orally by Means of Nanoparticles Composed of Novel Graft Copolymers

Abstract The ability of nanoparticles having surface hydrophilic polymeric chains to enhance the oral absorption of human calcitonin was examined in rats. The oral relative bioavailability of calcitonin against its subcutaneous administration was 0.01% without nanoparticles, but increased significantly when it was administered with nanoparticles. Nanoparticles having cationic poly(vinylamine) (PVAm) chains on their surfaces had a relatively stronger enhancing effect than did other nanoparticles. When divinylbenzene was added to the nanoparticle preparation, PVAm nanoparticles with a crosslinked hydrophobic polystyrene core were synthesized. The addition of divinylbenzene resulted in nanoparticles with larger zeta potential through the efficient accumulation of hydrophilic PVAm chains on their surfaces; however, inadequate amounts decreased the zeta potential. Changes in the bioavailability proportional to the zeta potential indicated that the cationic moiety is indispensable for inducing the significant enhancement of calcitonin absorption. The chemical structure of nanoparticles could be optimized by introducing nonionic poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) or anionic poly(methacrylic acid) chains onto the PVAm nanoparticle surface to effectively further improve the absorption‐enhancing function of PVAm nanoparticles. Finally, the maximum bioavailability of 1.1% was achieved after oral administration of calcitonin with PVAm–PNIPAAm nanoparticles whose components, VAm macromonomer, N‐isopropylacrylamine (NIPAAm) macromonomer, and styrene were copolymerized in the molar ratio of 1.5:0.5:10.

Importance of hydrophobic residues in α-human atrial natriuretic peptide (α-hANP) for vasorelaxant activity☆

Abstract To investigate the roles of the hydrophobic residues in the ANP molecule on biological activities, we synthesized a series of analogs containing various phenylalanine-homologs in position 8 or methionine-homologs in position 12. Among the analogs [ p Cl-Phe 8 ]-α-hANP(7–28) was 4.8 times as potent as α-hANP(7–28) in cGMP accumulation and 3.5 times as potent in vasorelaxant activity. All the analogs showed nanomolar affinity to the receptor. In contrast, vasorelaxation and cGMP accumulation activity of the analogs ranged widely. These results suggest that these hydrophobic residues in the cyclic core are critical for vasorelaxant activity rather than for the “apparent receptor binding”, and that these residues may possibly discriminate the “bioactive receptor” which is coupled to guanylate cyclase from the non-coupled receptor.