Solid phase synthesis of combinatorial libraries using anhydrides as templates.

A simple and general approach to the synthesis of chemical libraries based on a universal anhydride template allows the preparation of large number of compounds. Various cyclic/acyclic amines, primary/secondary amines, differentially protected bifunctional amines were used as nucleophiles to react with anhydrides. The free carboxylic acid generated was then coupled with solid-bound amines. The facile and rapid generation of compounds through this multi-component assembly can be accomplished in a combinatorial parallel synthesis.

Clearance receptor and neutral endopeptidase-mediated metabolism of atrial natriuretic factor.

A novel small linear C-atrial natriuretic factor receptor ligand [C-ANF-(11-15)] and phosphoramidon (PHO) were used to determine the effects of C-ANF receptor blockade alone, or in combination with inhibition of neutral endopeptidase (NEP), on the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of ANF in the rat. C-ANF-(11-15) infusion decreased apparent volume of distribution (Vss) and metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of administered 125I-ANF-(1-28) to one-third of their control values, whereas PHO alone was without effect on these parameters. In combination with C-ANF-(11-15), however, PHO further decreased MCR of 125I-ANF-(1-28) and increased plasma half time by more than threefold. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that C-ANF-(11-15) inhibited the delayed appearance of free 125I and [125I]monoiodotyrosine but had no effect on the small proportion of NEP metabolites in plasma. The combination of C-ANF-(11-15) and PHO further delayed the appearance of small metabolites, abolished the appearance of NEP metabolites, and markedly prolonged the permanence of intact 125I-ANF-(1-28) in plasma. The results demonstrate that C-ANF receptor blockade by C-ANF-(11-15) impairs clearance and metabolism of ANF, an effect which is synergistically potentiated by concomitant inhibition of NEP. C-ANF-(11-15) alone or in combination with NEP inhibitors may be a potentially useful therapeutic tool in the treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases.

Effects of small C-ANF receptor ligands on plasma levels of atrial natriuretic factor, blood pressure, and renal function in the rat.

In this article, after a very brief review on ANF receptors, we report our study on the effects of small C-ANF receptor ligands in the rat. Two small ligands were synthesized: 2-naphthoxyacetyl-isonipecotyl-rANF11-15-NH2 (5 aa), containing 5 amino acids; and Ala7-rANF8-17-NH2 (10 aa), containing 10 amino acids from the ring structure of ANF1-28. After control periods, 5 aa or 10 aa were infused i.v. at a dose of 10 micrograms.min-1.kg-1 body weight for 70 min in anesthetized rats, followed by a 60-min recovery period. The 5 aa and 10 aa peptides significantly and reversibly increased plasma levels of endogenous immunoreactive ANF by 106 +/- 29 and 52 +/- 24 pg/mL, respectively. Infusion of the 5 aa peptide significantly decreased mean arterial blood pressure from 113 +/- 1 to 100 +/- 3 mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.32 Pa) and increased glomerular filtration rate from 1.6 +/- 0.2 to 2.3 +/- 0.2 mL/min, sodium excretion from 0.6 +/- 0.3 to 3.4 +/- 0.4 mumol/min, and potassium excretion from 0.5 +/- 0.2 to 1.2 +/- 0.2 mumol/min. Similar results were obtained with the 10 aa peptide. The effects of both peptides on blood pressure and sodium excretion persisted throughout the recovery period. The results confirm and extend previous observations showing that C-ANF receptors mediate the removal of ANF from the circulation. The shortening of the minimal peptide length necessary to bind to C-ANF receptors markedly enhances the possibility of developing orally active C-ANF receptor ligands for the treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases.

Dehydration increases the density of C receptors for ANF on rat glomerular membranes.

The present study determined the presence of two types of binding sites for atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), the B and C receptor, on rat glomerular membranes. The effect of short-term salt loading and dehydration on these two receptor populations was investigated consecutively. Salt-loaded rats did not show significant changes in plasma ANF concentrations or in the number of ANF binding sites. Water-deprived rats presented significantly lower plasma ANF concentrations (22.0 +/- 1.9 vs. 34.4 +/- 3.8 fmol/ml, P less than 0.01) and an increase in total receptor density (1,860 +/- 398 vs. 987 +/- 143 fmol/mg protein) as compared with the control group. Differentiation of both receptor populations showed that it was the C receptors that accounted for this increase (1,772 +/- 369 vs. 901 +/- 151 fmol/mg protein, P less than 0.05), whereas B-receptor density was unchanged (89 +/- 31 vs. 87 +/- 44 fmol/mg protein). These data suggest that C receptors for ANF are affected by changes of body fluid volume.

Recombinant expression of a secreted form of the atrial natriuretic peptide clearance receptor.

A general structure for the atrial natriuretic peptide clearance receptor (ANP C-receptor) has been proposed based on hydropathicity analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of this membrane protein (Fuller, F., Porter, J.G., Arfsten, A., Miller, J., Schilling, J., Scarborough, R.M., Lewicki, J.A., and Schenk, D.B. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 9395-9401). The ANP C-receptor is believed to possess a large amino-terminal extracellular domain (436 amino acids), a single hydrophobic transmembrane anchor (23 amino acids), and a short cytoplasmic tail (37 amino acids). As a means of testing the structure and proposed cellular orientation of this protein, we have employed the technique of in vitro mutagenesis to prepare a receptor mutant (anc-) lacking the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. Expression of this mutant in mammalian cells using a vaccinia virus vector results in secretion of a truncated soluble form of the ANP C-receptor which binds native ANP and synthetic ANP analogs with a specificity similar to that of the native ANP C-receptor. In contrast to the native ANP C-receptor that exists predominantly as a homodimer on the cell surface, the secreted receptor exists as a monomeric species. The results are consistent with the proposed structure of this receptor with the amino-terminal domain containing the ANP-binding site oriented extracellular to the plasma membrane. In addition, these data demonstrate that the receptor does not require association with the plasma membrane or its native dimeric configuration in order to bind ANP ligands with high affinity and specificity.

D-amino acid-substituted atrial natriuretic peptide analogs reveal novel receptor recognition requirements.

The introduction of D-amino acid residues into peptide hormones has been traditionally utilized in structure-activity studies to probe the conformational requirements of ligand-receptor interactions. A study was undertaken to examine the effect of D-amino acid substitutions into the atrial natriuretic peptide molecule on interactions with distinct subpopulations of specific membrane-associated receptors of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells. Competitive binding analysis revealed that each of 15 synthetic D-amino acid-substituted analogs showed comparable affinities for C-ANP receptors, a class of specific receptors which have been proposed to mediate the sequestration and metabolic clearance of ANP. The relative affinities of all 15 analogs did not differ more than 10-fold. In contrast, the interaction of the ANP analogs with a second receptor pool (B-ANP receptors), which is coupled to the stimulation of particulate guanylate cyclase, varied over a 1000-fold range of potency consistent with expectations for a receptor that displays rigorous conformational specificity. The indiscriminant selectivity of C-ANP receptors for D-amino acid-substituted ANP analogs is unprecedented for hormone receptors involved in biological signal transduction. These results, when coupled with the inability to correlate any direct in vitro biological effect associated with C-ANP receptor occupancy supports the hypothesis that the C-ANP receptor protein is a novel transport protein involved in the metabolic clearance of ANP.

Physiological role of silent receptors of atrial natriuretic factor.

A ring-deleted analog of atrial natriuretic factor--des[Gln18, Ser19, Gly20, Leu21, Gly22] ANF4-23-NH2 (C-ANF4-23)--binds with high affinity to approximately 99% of ANF receptors in the isolated perfused rat kidney. In this preparation, C-ANF4-23 is devoid of detectable renal effects and does not antagonize any of the known renal hemodynamic and natriuretic actions of biologically active ANF1-28. In contrast, both C-ANF4-23 and ANF1-28 increase sodium excretion and decrease blood pressure in intact anesthetized rats. This apparent contradiction is resolved by the finding that the ring-deleted analog markedly increases plasma levels of endogenous immunoreactive ANF in the rat. The results show that the majority of the renal receptors of ANF are biologically silent. This new class of receptors may serve as specific peripheral storage-clearance binding sites, acting as a hormonal buffer system to modulate plasma levels of ANF.

Truncated atrial natriuretic peptide analogs. Comparison between receptor binding and stimulation of cyclic GMP accumulation in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.

A series of truncated atrial natriuretic peptide analogs were examined as a means of defining the structural requirements for receptor occupancy and stimulation of cyclic GMP accumulation in bovine aortic smooth muscle cells. It was determined that deletion of amino acids from the carboxyl and/or amino termini of the peptides diminished their ability to increase cyclic GMP levels. Deletion of amino acids from the carboxyl terminus had the greatest effect, and atrial natriuretic peptide analogs lacking the carboxyl-terminal phenylalanyl-arginyl-tyrosine tripeptide were 100-1000-fold less active than parent compounds in stimulating intracellular cyclic GMP accumulation. In marked contrast to the cyclic GMP effects, deletion of amino- and/or carboxyl-terminal amino acids had only minor effects on the affinity of the peptides for specific smooth muscle cell-associated receptors. Peptide analogs lacking the phenylalanyl-arginyl-tyrosine tripeptide bound to receptors with an affinity only 1.1-5-fold weaker than the parent compounds. Thus, there was no correlation between apparent receptor binding affinity of atrial natriuretic peptide analogs and potency of these same peptides for stimulating intracellular cyclic GMP accumulation. Furthermore, analogs that bound to receptors and failed to elicit significant cyclic GMP responses did not antagonize or modulate increases in cyclic GMP induced by parent compounds. These data are most consistent with the existence of multiple subpopulations of atrial natriuretic peptide receptors on aortic smooth muscle cells.

Identification of the receptor for atrial natriuretic factor on cultured vascular cells.

Binding experiments with 125I-atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) followed by covalent attachment with disuccimidyl suberate show that the peptide binds predominantly to a protein of apparent molecular mass of 66,000 daltons on the cell surface of cultured bovine aortic smooth muscle cells. A minor protein species of 180,000 Mr is also visualized after cross-linking. Endothelial cells, however, whose ANF binding parameters differ substantially from smooth muscle cells, also appear to have qualitatively identical 125I-ANF binding proteins. The identity of these putative proteins, as the ANF receptor, is confirmed by findings that covalent attachment of 125I-ANF is saturable, concentration-dependent, and competed by nanomolar concentrations of unlabeled ANF. Furthermore, other peptide hormones such as angiotensin II, glucagon, or insulin are ineffective in competing for 125I-ANF binding and cross-linking to the receptor.

Isolation and primary structure of two peptides with cardioacceleratory and hyperglycemic activity from the corpora cardiaca of Periplaneta americana.

Two cardioacceleratory peptides from the corpora cardiaca of Periplaneta americana have been purified by gel filtration and reversed-phase liquid chromatography, Based on analysis of the intact factors and their chymotryptic fragments, we have assigned the primary structure of these octapeptides as pGlu-Val-Asn-Phe-Ser-Pro-Asn-Trp-NH2, designated periplanetin CC-1, and pGlu-Leu-Thr-Phe-Thr-Pro-Asn-Trp-NH2, designated periplanetin CC-2. They represent new members of a family of invertebrate peptides that includes locust adipokinetic hormone and crustacean red-pigment concentrating hormone. Both peptides show adipokinetic activity in grasshoppers and hyperglycemic activity in cockroaches. One of these peptides (CC-2) has provocative sequence homology with the NH2-terminal portion of glucagon.