Liporetro-D-peptides - a novel class of highly selective thrombin inhibitors

Plasma serine protease thrombin plays a key role in coagulation, haemostasis and thromboembolic diseases. Direct thrombin inhibitors could be beneficial for future anticoagulant therapy. We have synthesized and studied liporetro-D-peptides - efficient thrombin inhibitors resistant to enzymatic degradation.

Compounds X-D-Arg-D-Phe-OMe, where X=residue of lauric or myristic acid or 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl, have been synthesized by conventional peptide synthesis in solution and their comparative inhibitory analysis in relation to thrombin, factor X, plasmin and trypsin has been conducted.

Modification of the synthetic liporetro-D-peptides with the myristic acid residue was the most successful one. This modification has dramatically increased the inhibition efficacy (Ki=0,17 μM) and selectivity toward the chosen target enzyme, thrombin, in comparison to factor X, plasmin and trypsin (more than 600, 900, and 5000-fold, respectively).

Our findings establish an important role of the fatty moiety in the structure of peptide inhibitors with regards to their potency and selectivity toward thrombin.