Development of functionalized peptides for efficient inhibition of myostatin by selective photooxygenation

For the inhibition of myostatin, which is an attractive strategy for the treatment of muscle atrophic disorders including muscular dystrophy, myostatin-binding peptides were synthesized with an on/off-switchable photooxygenation catalyst at different positions on the peptide chain. These functionalized peptides oxygenated and inactivated myostatin upon irradiation with near-infrared light. Among the peptides tested, a peptide (5) with the catalyst moiety at the 16 position induced myostatin-selective photooxygenation, and efficiently inhibited myostatin. These peptides exhibited low phototoxicity. Such functionalized peptides would provide a precedented strategy for myostatin-targeting therapy, in which myostatin is irreversibly and catalytically inactivated by photooxygenation.