Discovery of Thioether-Cyclized Macrocyclic Covalent Inhibitors by mRNA Display

Macrocyclic peptides are promising scaffolds for the covalent ligand discovery. However, platforms enabling the direct identification of covalent macrocyclic ligands in a high-throughput manner are limited. In this study, we present an mRNA display platform allowing selection of covalent macrocyclic inhibitors using 1,3-dibromoacetone-vinyl sulfone (DBA-VS). Testcase selections on TEV protease resulted in potent covalent inhibitors with diverse cyclic structures, among which cTEV6-2, a macrocyclic peptide with a unique C-terminal cyclization, emerged as the most potent covalent inhibitor of TEV protease described to-date. This study outlines the workflow for integrating chemical functionalization─installation of a covalent warhead─with mRNA display and showcases its application in targeted covalent ligand discovery.