Palmitoylated peptides

Eukaryotic cells utilize an efficient transport system that delivers macromolecules fast and secure to their destination. In the case of the small GTP binding proteins of the Ras family the modified C-terminus seems to be sufficient for addressing the polypeptide to its target membrane (in the case of Ras itself the plasma membrane). Lipopeptides with the C-terminal structure of N-Ras (either a pen-tamer with a C-terminal carboxymethylation and farnesylation or a heptapeptide with a palmitoyl thioester in addition) and a N-terminal 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-l,3-diazolyl (NBD) fluorophore were microin-jected into NIH3T3 fibroblast cells and the distribution of the fluorophore was monitored by confocal laser fluorescence microscopy. Enrichment of the protein in the plasma membrane was efficient only for peptides with two hydrophobic modification sites, while the farnesylated but not palmitoylated peptide was distributed in the cytosol.1121... 

The acylation of peptides with fatty acids is easily achieved by acylation of a free amino group that can be N-terminal or side-chain located. After the discovery that short tri-palmitoylated peptides can elicit strong immunological responses against the peptide,[90,91]... 

Pallavi B, Nagaraj R. Palmitoylated peptides from the cysteine-rich domain of SNAP-23 cause membrane fusion depending on peptide length, position of cysteines, and extent of palmitoylation. J. Biol. Chem. 2003 278 12737-12744. 

This type of modified lipopeptide cannot be deblocked under basic conditions because the labile palmitic acid thioester group would be preferentially hydrolyzed. The C-terminus of the peptide chain was selectively deprotected by removing the choline ester with choline esterase without affecting the palmitic acid thioester bond. The observed chemoselectivity here is exactly opposite to that found in nonenzymatic conversions. Some of the synthesized N-terminally deprotected lipopeptides, have been labeled with biotinand are expected to serve as anchors for a protein moiety in an artificial membrane. Butyrylcholine esterase mediated cleavage of the choline ester has been utilized l as the key step in the synthesis of S-palmitoylated peptides such as Myr-Gly-Cys(Plm)-Thr-Leu-Ser-Ala-OH, which represents the characteristic N-terminus of the a-subunit of human G o protein. 

The H- and N-isoforms of Ras support the first (isoprenoid) hydrophobic modification by additional thioester formation with palmitoylic acids [18]. At physiological temperature (37°C) the dissociation of doubly modified lipo-peptides with an isoprenyl thioether and a palmitoyl thioester is very slow and characterized by half-times in the order of 50 h. Here, the relative effect of the carboxymethylation is significantly reduced. Palmitoyl groups with their C16 alkane chain length contribute more efficiently to membrane anchoring than the farnesyl modification. 

Pd°-catalyzed deprotection of S-palmitoylated dipeptide 9 yielded the corresponding selectively deprotected peptide 10. Condensation of 10 with farnesylated pentapeptide 15, which was readily accessible via the Aloe methodology1201 as depicted in Scheme 10 and alternatively using AcOZ1111 as the protecting group, resulted in the formation of target peptide 16.17251... 

Again there is a clear difference between single and double hydrophobic modified peptides in their ability to persist in the lipid layer. A famesylated and palmitoylated heptapeptide dissociates rather... 

In a related experiment CV-1 fibroblasts were incubated with fluorescent N-Ras lipopeptides bearing a free palmitoylation site. These peptides cause staining of the CV-1 plasma membrane and efficient S-acylation even if the farnesyl group was replaced by a n-octyl group.1271 The association of the N-Ras lipopeptides with the plasma membrane... 

The acylated peptides (Myr)GCX-Bimane 31 a-e (X = G, L, R, T, V), which are found in certain nonreceptor tyrosine kinases and ct-subunits of several heterotrimeric G-proteins, were synthesized in solution using common solution-phase peptide synthesis with X-myristoylglycine as a building block. These model peptides were used for acylation studies with palmitoyl-CoA in phospholipid vesicles at physiological pH. For such uncatalyzed spontaneous reactions only a modest molar excess of acyl donor species (2.5 1) was necessary. Unprotected side chains of threonine or serine are not interfering with this S-acylation (Scheme 14). 

For the synthesis of a small library of palmitoylated and isoprenylated N-Ras peptides in solution, a modular strategy was adopted, with the tetrapeptide MGLP 38 as a key intermediate. This tetrapeptide allowed further elongation at its C-terminus with lipidated or nonlipidated cysteine methyl esters, as well as the addition of various N-terminally MIC-labeled dipeptides, consisting of different GC lipidated units 39—41... 

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