title: Solid phase synthesis and RNA-binding studies of a serum-resistant nucleo-epsilon-peptide.
abstract: In the present work we report the synthesis of a new Fmoc-protected L-lysine-based nucleo-amino acid suitable for the solid phase assembly and its oligomerisation to the corresponding nucleo-epsilon-peptide that we called epsilon-lysPNA. The ability to bind complementary RNA and the stability in serum of this synthetic nucleo-epsilon-peptide were studied to explore its possible use in antisense or diagnostic applications. Our interest to the presented oligonucleotide analogue was also supported by the importance of epsilon-peptides and other epsilon-amino acid-containing compounds in natural products with biological activity such as the poly-epsilon-lysines produced by Streptomyces albulus that possess a highly selective antimicrobial activity. Another aspect we intended to evaluate by this work is the possible prebiotic implication of these nucleopeptides, since epsilon-peptides, and not alpha-peptides, were mainly obtained among the other thermal prebiotic polypeptides in pyrocondensation of lysine, a diamino acid also detected in Mighei meteorite. Besides this intriguing question, all the remarkable properties emerged from the present investigation on epsilon-lysPNAs encourage, without doubts, interest in the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of these bioinspired nucleopeptides.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini-CNR, Via Mezzocannone 16, Napoli, Italy. giroviel@unina.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roviello
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Musumeci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castiglione
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bucci
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pedone
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benedetti
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000737:chemistry; D008239:Lysine / Q000737:chemistry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011107:Polylysine / Q000737:chemistry; D011485:Protein Binding; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D005449:Fluorenes; C016456:N(alpha)-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonylamino acids; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; D011107:Polylysine; D012313:RNA; D008239:Lysine