[Amides of creatine: perspectives of neuroprotection].

We evaluated the efficacy of derivatives of creatine and amino acids (CrAA) for decreasing cerebral injury in rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Neuroprotective effects of amides of creatine and glycine (CrGlyOEt), phenylalanine (CrPheNH2), thyrosine (CrTyrNH2), and GABA (CrGABAOEt) were investigated. Brain injury was evaluated on day 2 after transient MCAO using a TTC staining of brain slices. Compared with the MCAO control group, all the CrAms showed decreased cerebral injury (p < 0.05). However CrPheNH2, CrTyrNH2, and CrGABAOEt were toxic after intravenous administration and investigated only after intraperitoneal injection. CrGlyOEt did not show any toxicity at dose of 1 mmol/kg. These data evidenced that creatinyl amides can represent promising candidates for the development of new drugs useful in brain ischemia treatment.

[Non-viral gene therapy approach for regenerative recovery of skin wounds in mammals].

The rate and character of skin tissue regeneration after wounds, burns and other traumas depend on the cell proliferation within damaged area. Acceleration of healing by stimulation of cell proliferation and extracellular matrix synthesis is one of the most important tasks of modern medicine. There are gene therapy approaches to wound treatment consisting in the transfer of genes encoding mitogenic growth factors to wound area. The most important step in the development of gene therapy approaches is the design of gene delivery tools. In spite of high efficacy of viral vectors, the non-viral means have some preferences (low toxicity, low immunogenity, safety and the absence of backside effects). Among non-viral gene delivery tools, molecular conjugates are the most popular because of their efficacy, simplicity, and the capacity to the targeted gene transfer. In the present work we have developed two molecular conjugates--NLS-TSF7 and NLS-TSF12 consisting of the modified signal of nuclear localization of T-antigen of SV40 virus (cationic part) and the peptide ligands of mammalian transferrin receptor (ligand part). These conjugates bind to plasmid DNA with formation of polyelectrolytic complexes and are capable to deliver plasmid DNA into cells expressing transferrin receptors by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Transfer of the expression vector of luciferase gene in the complex with molecular conjugate NLS-TSF7 to murine surface tissues led to about 100 fold increasing of luciferase activity in comparison with the transfer of free expression vector. Treatment of slash wounds in mice with the complexes of expression vector of synthetic human gene encoding insulin-like growth factor 1 with molecular conjugates NLS-TSF7 led to acceleration of healing in comparison with mice treated with free expression vector. The results obtained confirm the high efficiency of the developed regenerative gene therapy approach for the treatment of damaged skin tissues in mammals.

[Derivatives of N-amidinoproline and their use in conventional and solid phase peptide synthesis].

N-Amidinoproline, a hybrid structure modeling key features of the Arg-Pro sequence, was synthesized. The activation of carboxyl group of free N-amidinoproline was found to result in the formation of a cyclic side product, whose structure was confirmed by ESI MS, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectra. The preparation of N-(mesitylenesulfonylamidino)-L-proline using the mesitylenesulfonyl derivative of 2-methylisourea was demonstrated to be accompanied by partial racemization. The target product was synthesized by modification of N-amidinoproline by mesitylenesulfonyl chloride. The possibility of using N-amidinoproline in the N-terminal modification of a peptide chain was shown by the example of synthesis of an analogue of the 95-98 fragment of fibrinogen alpha chain.

Antithrombotic and vasorelaxant properties of a novel synthetic RGD peptide containing nitric oxide.

We have developed a novel synthetic peptide containing both the antiadhesive Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) amino acid sequence and a nitric oxide (NO) moiety well known for its vasorelaxant properties. The main objective of this study was to determine whether this hybrid molecule is concurrently effective with regard to antithrombotic and vasorelaxation actions. Studies of in vitro platelet adhesion and of in vivo platelet thrombus formation in the rat demonstrated that the RGD-NO peptide increased the antithrombotic characteristics of the RGD peptide alone. The RGD-NO peptide also caused relaxation of rat aortic rings, while the RGD peptide did not induce relaxation. These characteristics of Ac-RGDC-SNO suggest that this or similar compounds may have potential as effective antithrombotic agents in coronary and peripheral artery disorders.