Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Medical University of Lodz, Mazowiecka 6/8, 92-215 Lodz, Poland.
Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 21;23(20):12700. doi: 10.3390/ijms232012700.
Recently, mixed opioid/NOP agonists came to the spotlight for their favorable functional profiles and promising outcomes in clinical trials as novel analgesics. This study reports on two novel chimeric peptides incorporating the fragment Tyr-c[D-Lys-Phe-Phe]Asp-NH (), a cyclic peptide with high affinity for µ and κ opioid receptors (or MOP and KOP, respectively), conjugated with the peptide Ac-RYYRIK-NH, a known ligand of the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor (NOP), yielding RP-170-RYYRIK-NH () and RP-170-Gly-RYYRIK-NH (). In vitro, the chimeric gained affinity for KOP, hence becoming a dual KOP/MOP agonist, while behaved as a mixed MOP/NOP agonist with low nM affinity. Hence, was selected for further in vivo experiments. Intrathecal administration of this peptide in mice elicited antinociceptive effects in the hot-plate test; this action was sensitive to both the universal opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and the selective NOP antagonist SB-612111. The rotarod test revealed that administration did not alter the mice motor coordination performance. Computational studies have been conducted on the two chimeras to investigate the structural determinants at the basis of the experimental activities, including any role of the Gly spacer.
最近,混合阿片类/NOP 激动剂因其在临床试验中的良好功能特性和有希望的结果而成为新型镇痛药,引起了人们的关注。本研究报告了两种新型嵌合肽,它们融合了片段 Tyr-c[D-Lys-Phe-Phe]Asp-NH(),这是一种对μ和κ阿片受体(分别为 MOP 和 KOP)具有高亲和力的环状肽,与肽 Ac-RYYRIK-NH 共轭,这是已知的伤害感受素/孤啡肽 FQ 受体(NOP)配体,得到 RP-170-RYYRIK-NH()和 RP-170-Gly-RYYRIK-NH()。在体外,嵌合肽获得了对 KOP 的亲和力,因此成为双重 KOP/MOP 激动剂,而则表现为具有低 nM 亲和力的混合 MOP/NOP 激动剂。因此,选择用于进一步的体内实验。在小鼠鞘内给予这种肽在热板试验中引起镇痛作用;这种作用对通用阿片受体拮抗剂纳洛酮和选择性 NOP 拮抗剂 SB-612111 均敏感。旋转棒试验显示,给予肽不改变小鼠的运动协调性能。已经对这两种嵌合体进行了计算研究,以研究实验活性的基础上的结构决定因素,包括 Gly 间隔物的任何作用。