[Peptide synthesis aiming at elucidation and creation of protein functions]

The recent development of molecular biology has been elucidating outlines of the cross-talk of biomolecules. The understanding of the function of these biomolecules from the viewpoint of chemistry is now demanded not only for the understanding of biological systems but also for the creation of novel functional molecules. Here two topics are described about peptide synthesis aiming at the elucidation and the creation of protein functions. The first topic is the development of approaches for the synthesis of Tyr (SO3H)-containing peptides. Tyrosine sulfation is one of the most popular protein post-translational modifications. Synthetic peptides are of great help for the elucidation of the biological significance of tyrosine sulfation. We have developed two approaches for the efficient synthesis of tyrosine sulfate [Tyr (SO3H)]-containing peptides. The first approach employs a dimethylformamide-sulfur trioxide (DMF-SO3) complex as a sulfating agent and safety-catch protecting groups for the selective sulfation of tyrosine in the presence of serine. The second approach employs the direct introduction of Tyr(SO3H) into the peptide chain in the form of Fmoc-Tyr(SO3Na) followed by deprotection at 4 degrees C in trifluoroacetic acid. These approaches were successfully applied for the synthesis of cholecystokinin (CCK)-related peptides. The second topic deals with new approaches for the creation of artificial proteins through assembling alpha-helical peptides via selective disulfide or thioether formation. Approaches to assemble individual peptide segments on a peptide template were also developed. Four peptides corresponding to the transmembrane segments of the sodium channel (S4 in repeat I-IV) were assembled on a peptide template to give a protein having ion channel activity with rectification.