SYNTHESIS OF A TYPE-VI-BETA-TURN PEPTIDE MIMETIC AND ITS INCORPORATION INTO A HIGH-AFFINITY SOMATOSTATIN RECEPTOR-LIGAND

The synthesis of a cis-Phe-Pro dipeptide mimetic is described, which adopts a type-VI beta-turn conformation. In this mimetic, the alpha-positions of Phe and Pro are joined by a CH2CH2 bridge, thereby forming a fused bicyclic system, and fixing a geometry similar to that seen in cis-Phe-Pro units in protein crystal structures. The dipeptide mimetic 20 was synthesized in optically pure form starting from (R)-alpha-allylproline (6; Schemes 1, 3, and 4), with a free carboxylic acid and an Fmoc-protected N-terminus, thereby allowing its incorporation into linear and cyclic peptides using standard solid-phase methods. The mimetic 20 was incorporated into the cyclic somatostatin analogue cyclo(-Phe = Pro-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr-), where Phe = Pro represents the mimetic. This analogue shows a high affinity (pIC(50) 8.6) for somatostatin receptors on rat-brain cortex membranes. Based on NMR studies in aqueous solution, likely low-energy conformations for this analogue were deduced using restrained dynamic simulated annealing. The conformations found, which include a distorted type-II' turn at D-Trp-Lys, are similar to low-energy conformations deduced elsewhere for cyclo(-Phe-Pro-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr-), as well as to those seen in crystal structures of the somatostatin analogue octreotide.