Butelase-Mediated Macrocyclization of d-Amino-Acid-Containing Peptides

Macrocyclic compounds have received increasing attention in recent years. With their large surface area, they hold promise for inhibiting protein-protein interactions, a chemical space that was thought to be undruggable. Although many chemical methods have been developed for peptide macrocyclization, enzymatic methods have emerged as a promising new economical approach. Thus far, most enzymes have been shown to act on l-peptides; their ability to cyclize d-amino-acid-containing peptides has rarely been documented. Herein we show that macrocycles consisting of d-amino acids, except for the Asn residue at the ligating site, were efficiently synthesized by butelase 1, an Asn/Asp-specific ligase. Furthermore, by using a peptide-library approach, we show that butelase 1 tolerates most of the d-amino acid residues at the P1'' and P2'' positions.