Modulation of the Passive Permeability of Semipeptidic Macrocycles: N- and C-Methylations Fine-Tune Conformation and Properties

J Med Chem. 2021 May 13;64(9):5365-5383. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02036. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Abstract

Incorporating small modifications to peptidic macrocycles can have a major influence on their properties. For instance, N-methylation has been shown to impact permeability. A better understanding of the relationship between permeability and structure is of key importance as peptidic drugs are often associated with unfavorable pharmacokinetic profiles. Starting from a semipeptidic macrocycle backbone composed of a tripeptide tethered head-to-tail with an alkyl linker, we investigated two small changes: peptide-to-peptoid substitution and various methyl placements on the nonpeptidic linker. Implementing these changes in parallel, we created a collection of 36 compounds. Their permeability was then assessed in parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) and Caco-2 assays. Our results show a systematic improvement in permeability associated with one peptoid position in the cycle, while the influence of methyl substitution varies on a case-by-case basis. Using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and NMR measurements, we offer hypotheses to explain such behavior.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Caco-2 Cells
  • Cell Membrane Permeability / drug effects
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Macrocyclic Compounds / chemistry*
  • Macrocyclic Compounds / metabolism
  • Macrocyclic Compounds / pharmacology
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Methylation
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Peptidomimetics / chemistry*
  • Peptidomimetics / metabolism
  • Peptidomimetics / pharmacology

Substances

  • Macrocyclic Compounds
  • Peptidomimetics