Interplay among Conformation, Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonds, and Chameleonicity in the Membrane Permeability and Cyclophilin A Binding of Macrocyclic Peptide Cyclosporin O Derivatives

J Med Chem. 2021 Jun 24;64(12):8272-8286. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00211. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Abstract

A macrocyclic peptide scaffold with well-established structure-property relationship is desirable for tackling undruggable targets. Here, we adopted a natural macrocycle, cyclosporin O (CsO) and its derivatives (CP1-3), and evaluated the impact of conformation on membrane permeability, cyclophilin A (CypA) binding, and the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile. In nonpolar media, CsO showed a similar conformation to cyclosporin A (CsA), a well-known chameleonic macrocycle, but less chameleonic behavior in a polar environment. The weak chameleonicity of CsO resulted in decreased membrane permeability; however, the more rigid conformation of CsO was not detrimental to its PK profile. CsO exhibited a higher plasma concentration than CsA, which resulted from minimal CypA binding and lower accumulation in red blood cells and moderate oral bioavailability (F = 12%). Our study aids understanding of CsO, a macrocyclic peptide that is less explored than CsA but with greater potential for diversity generation and rational design.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caco-2 Cells
  • Cell Membrane Permeability / drug effects
  • Cyclization
  • Cyclophilin A / chemistry
  • Cyclophilin A / metabolism*
  • Cyclosporine / chemical synthesis
  • Cyclosporine / metabolism
  • Cyclosporine / pharmacokinetics
  • Cyclosporins / chemical synthesis
  • Cyclosporins / metabolism*
  • Cyclosporins / pharmacokinetics
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Protein Binding

Substances

  • Cyclosporins
  • cyclosporin O
  • Cyclosporine
  • Cyclophilin A