Probing Tripodal Peptide Scaffolds as Insulin and IGF‐1 Receptor Ligands

• DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.201800606
• Publication Date: 2018-05-18T12:30:00Z
• Authors: Benjamin Fabre; Jan Pícha; Irena Selicharová; Lenka Žáková; Martina Chrudinová; Jan Hajduch; Jiří Jiráček
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences

Non‐natural compounds mimicking the actions of proteins and large peptides can find a plethora of applications in modulating protein–protein interactions. In this study, the biological properties of three new tripodal and trifunctional scaffolds designed for the solid‐phase synthesis of three different peptides on the same scaffold were tested. Using model peptide sequences derived from receptor‐binding epitopes from insulin or peptides derived from previously developed insulin mimetics, the quality of scaffold‐derived compounds were probed as binders of the insulin and IGF‐1 receptors and as activators of the insulin receptor. Two compounds were identified that could bind insulin receptors with low micromolar affinities. It was found that factors influencing the activities of scaffold‐based compounds are complex and that the properties of compounds are due to specific peptide sequences placed on specific arms of the scaffolds. This opens up new avenues for combinatorial libraries of scaffold‐based compounds, which could provide new activators or inhibitors of both receptors. The potential of the scaffold‐based compounds is further underlined by a substantially higher metabolic stability of scaffold‐linked peptides compared to peptides alone.