ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUELetterNEXTN-Terminus Urea-Substituted Chemotactic Peptides: New Potent Agonists and Antagonists toward the Neutrophil fMLF ReceptorJohn D. Higgins, Gary J. Bridger, Claudia K. Derian, Michael J. Beblavy, Pedro E. Hernandez, Forrest E. Gaul, Michael J. Abrams, Marilyn C. Pike, and Howard F. SolomonView Author Information Johnson Matthey Biomedical Research, 1401 King Road, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380, The R. W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Welsh and McKean Roads, Spring House, Pennsylvania 19477, and The Massachusetts General Hospital, Arthritis Unit, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 Cite this: J. Med. Chem. 1996, 39, 5, 1013–1015Publication Date (Web):March 1, 1996Publication History Received11 December 1995Published online1 March 1996Published inissue 1 January 1996https://doi.org/10.1021/jm950908dCopyright © 1996 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views407Altmetric-Citations34LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit Read OnlinePDF (83 KB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Agonists,Antagonists,Peptides and proteins,Receptors,Urea Get e-Alerts

Stimulation of the leukocyte N-formylpeptide receptor (FPR) induces chemotaxis, cell adhesion, free radical release, and degranulation, responses associated with infection and inflammation. Under conditions where continuous activation of the receptor prevails, neutrophil-dependent tissue damage ensues. Antagonists of the FPR have potential for use as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Hence, we have synthesized and evaluated a series of amino-terminal carbamate analogues of the peptide Met-Leu-Phe (MLF) in order to determine the structural requirements for imparting agonist or antagonist activity at the human neutrophil FPR. Peptides were evaluated in three in vitro assays: receptor binding, superoxide anion release, and cell adhesion. Unbranched carbamates (methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, and n-butyloxycarbonyl) resulted in agonist activity, whereas branched carbamates (iso-butyloxycarbonyl, tert-butyloxycarbonyl, and benzyloxycarbonyl) were antagonists. The peptide antagonists were more potent inhibitors of superoxide anion release than cell adhesion by 4-7-fold. When iso-butyloxycarbonyl-MLF (i-Boc-MLF) was further modified at the carboxy terminus with Lys, antagonist potency was retained but without functional selectivity. Further C-terminal modification with the radionuclide linker diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid did not alter the potency of i-Boc-MLFK. These results indicate that the switch from agonist to antagonist activity can be achieved by modifying the overall size and shape of the amino-terminal group; that modifications at both the amino and carboxy termini can alter the functional selectivity of the peptide; and that modifications can be tolerated at the carboxy terminus to allow for development of an antagonist for diagnostic applications.

We synthesized and evaluated four hydrazino nicotinamide (HYNIC) derivatized chemotactic peptide analogs: For-NleLFK-HYNIC (HP1), For-MLFK-HYNIC (HP2), For-MLFNH(CH2)6NH-HYNIC (HP3), and For-MLF-(D)-K-HYNIC (HP4), for in vitro bioactivity and receptor binding. The peptides were radiolabeled with Tc-99m via a glucoheptonate co-ligand and their biodistribution determined in rats (n = 6/time point) at 5,30,60 and 120 min after injection. Localization of the peptides at sites of deep thigh Escherichia coli infection was determined by radioactivity measurements on excised tissues in rats (n = 6/time point) and rabbits as well as scintillation camera imaging in rabbits (n = 6). All peptides maintained biological activity (EC50s for O2 production by human PMNs: 12-500 nM) and the ability to bind to the oligopeptide chemoattractant receptor on human PMNs (EC50s for binding: 0.12-40 nM). After incubation with Tc-99m-glucoheptonate, radiolabeled peptides were isolated by HPLC at specific activities of >10,000 mCi/muM. Technetium-99m-labeled peptides retained receptor binding with EC50s < 10 nM. Blood clearance of all four peptides was rapid. Biodistributions of the individual peptides were similar, with low levels of accumulation in most normal tissues. In rats, all of the peptides concentrated at the infection sites (T/B ratio: 2.5-3:1) within 1 hr of injection. In rabbits, outstanding images of the infection sites were obtained, with T/B ratios of >20:1 at 15 hr after injection. This study demonstrates that Tc-99m-labeled chemotactic peptide analogs are effective agents for the external imaging of focal sites of infection.

Four DTPA-derivatized chemotactic peptide analogs: ForNleLFNleYK-DTPA (P1), ForMLFNH(CH2)6NH-DTPA (P2), ForNleLFK(NH2)-DTPA (P3), and ForNleLFK-DTPA (P4), were synthesized and evaluated for in vitro bioactivity and receptor binding. The peptides were radiolabeled with 111In by transchelation and their biodistribution determined in rats at 5, 30, 60 and 120 min after injection. Localization at sites of infection was determined by scintillation camera imaging in animals with deep-thigh infection due to Escherichia coli. Images were recorded from 5 min to 2 hr after injection. All peptides maintained biologic activity (EC50 for O2-production by human PMN's: 3-150 nM) and the ability to bind to the oligopeptide chemoattractant receptor on human PMN's (EC50 for binding: 7.5-50 nM); biologic activity and receptor binding were highly correlated (r = 0.99). For all the peptides, blood clearance was rapid (half-lives: 21.5, 33.1, 31.6, and 28.7 min for P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively). Biodistributions of the individual peptides were similar with low levels of accumulation in the heart, lung, liver, spleen, and gastrointestinal tract. In the kidney, P1 had much greater accumulation than other organs. All peptides yielded high quality images of the infection sites within 1 hr of injection. This study demonstrates that 111Inlabeled chemotactic peptide analogs were effective agents for the external imaging of focal sites of infection.