Structure-activity studies of bradykinin and related peptides. B2-receptor antagonists

Thirty-seven compounds were tested as antagonists of kinin B2- and B1-receptors to identify the chemical changes required to obtain antagonism, improve antagonist affinity, and eliminate residual agonistic activities. Apparent affinity of antagonists was evaluated in terms of pA2 on the rabbit jugular vein, the dog carotid and renal arteries, the hamster urinary bladder, the guinea pig ileum, the rat vas deferens, the guinea pig trachea, and the rabbit aorta, using bradykinin and desArg9-bradykinin as B2- and B1-receptor activators. Replacement of Pro7 of bradykinin with D-Phe leads to antagonism; substitution of Pro3 by Hyp and extension of the peptide chain at the N-terminal with a D-Arg residue improves the affinity of antagonists; acetylation of N-terminal amine function reduces residual agonistic activity; these changes, combined with the replacement of Phe8 by Leu as in Ac-D-Arg[Hyp3,D-Phe7,Leu8]-bradykinin, led to potent full B2-receptor antagonists. Affinity of antagonists differs markedly between highly sensitive (rabbit jugular vein, dog carotid and renal artery), moderately sensitive (hamster urinary bladder, guinea pig ileum, and rat vas deferens), and insensitive preparations (the guinea pig trachea) in which antagonists act as potent stimulants. High concentrations of antagonists block bradykinin completely in the rabbit jugular vein but not in the guinea pig ileum, suggesting that kinins stimulate the moderately sensitive tissues by two mechanisms, of which only one is blocked by antagonists. It thus appears that kinins act on various B2-receptor subtypes or by different action mechanisms.