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Volume 2, Number 1, 1999: Contents

Phage Displayed Peptide Libraries. Pp. 1-18.
Gianni Cesareni, Luisa Castagnoli and Gianlucci Cestra
[Abstract]

Phage Display in Proteolysis and Signal Transduction. Pp. 19-28.
Hermann Gram
[Abstract]

A Novel Cleavage Protocol For Use With Rf-Encoded Split Pool Synthesis Technology: Product Cleavage and Collection in Standard 96 Well Format. Pp. 29-32.
C. J. Andres, R. T. Swann, K. Grant-Young, Stanley V. D'Andrea and Milind S. Deshpande
[Abstract]

A Solid Phase Approach to Substituted Pyrimidines and Their Conversion into Condensed Heterocycles for Potential Use in Combinatorial Chemistry. Pp. 33-38.
Sanjay K. Srivastava, W. Haq and P.M.S. Chauhan
[Abstract]

High Throughput Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Assessment of the Metabolic Activity of Commercially Available Hepatocytes from 96-Well Plates. Pp. 39-52.
Gory W. Caldwell, John A. Mosucci and Enrique Chacon
[Abstract]


Abstracts

[Back to top] Phage Displayed Peptide Libraries. Gianni Cesareni, Luisa Castagnoli and Gianlucci Cestra.
Peptide libraries may be constructed by grafting, in vitro, random DNA sequences into a carrier gene and then introducing the degenerate hybrid coding sequence into an expression organism. This review will focus on phage display, which was the first expression organism for peptide library expression to be described and which still maintains predominance in this area because of its simplicity, minimal cost, ease of manipulation, power and robustness. Using phage as the host, a repertoire of random peptides can be expressed that may be searched by a variety of screening or selection procedures. By physically associating each element of the peptide library with its coding sequence, selection for a property of a specific peptide results in the enrichment of the corresponding gene thus facilitating its cloning and amplification. This review focuses on the construction and screening of peptide libraries displayed on filamentous phage capsid and only briefly discusses the display of proteins and protein domains.

[Back to top] Phage Display in Proteolysis and Signal Transduction. Hermann Gram.
The power of the phage display technology relies on the coupling of the functional display of combinatorial peptide or protein libraries with the ability of each member in the library to self-replicate and, at the same time, to encode the primary structure of the displayed polypeptide in its genome. Phage display systems, therefore, reflect the principle of encoded combinatorial chemistry close to perfection. Phage display libraries have extensively been used for the selection of peptides, antibody combining sites or protein variants binding to given structures such as polypeptides, carbohydrates, nucleic acids or small molecular weight compounds. The use of peptide libraries in selecting molecular interaction partners was extensively described in numerous publications and was subject to a variety of review articles in the past. More recently, and in the focus of this review, combinatorial phage libraries have been employed to examine substrate recognition in catalysis and signal transduction. The sensitivity and versatility of phage display for probing molecular recognition and catalysis by enzymes was demonstrated inasmuch as discriminating peptide substrates could be identified for even closely related proteases or tyrosine kinases. Furthermore, the modification of whole phage libraries by tyrosine kinases led to the identification of phosphopeptides specific for Src-homology-2 (SH2)- and phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domains, which are both structural and functional modules facilitating substrate recognition by protein kinases, phosphatases or adapter molecules involved in signal transduction.

[Back to top] A Novel Cleavage Protocol For Use With Rf-Encoded Split Pool Synthesis Technology: Product Cleavage and Collection in Standard 96 Well Format. C. J. Andres, R. T. Swann, K. Grant-Young, Stanley V. D'Andrea and Milind S. Deshpande.
A novel protocol which employs commercially available, standard tools and hardware has been developed. This protocol allows for cleavage and collection of IRORI Microkan products in 96 well plate format. Typically, 640 compounds can be cleaved in a 4 hour time period using approximately 3 square feet of space. This protocol has been used successfully for the liberation of thousands of individual compounds, in single compound per well format from the solid phase. Additionally, this protocol is the first example of making IRORI Microkan technology directly compatible with standard 96 position deep well blocks.

[Back to top] A Solid Phase Approach to Substituted Pyrimidines and Their Conversion into Condensed Heterocycles for Potential Use in Combinatorial Chemistry. Sanjay K. Srivastava, W. Haq and P.M.S. Chauhan.
A novel general synthesis of substituted pyrimidine 3 has been carried out on solid support. The C-atoms carring the cyano, amino, carboxamido, as well as anchoring site have exploited to generate libraries of compounds 6-8,10,13,15,17, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27. A novel strategy to cleave the resin to resin-site unsubstituted system has been developed and it provides 5,6-disubstituted pyrimidines 6-8. In addition, synthesis of 2,5,6-trisubstituted pyrimidines of prototype 10 were carried out by nucleophilic displacement of the anchor by various amines. Further investigations were directed toward the solid phase synthesis of pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines 12,16, 20 and 24 in which C-atoms carring the oxo, thio, amino, anchoring site as well as NH could be introduced as center of diversity to generate libraries of compounds for potential use. 4-Aminopyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines 13 and 17 were obtained from fusion of 3a with urea or thiourea followed by cleavage of support while 3-phenylpyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines 21 and 27 were synthesized from cyclisation of 4 with phenyl isocyanate or isothiocyanate followed by release of resin. 7-substituted pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines 15,19, 23 and 27 were obtained by oxidation of 12,16, 20.and 24 followed by aminolytic cleavage of support.

[Back to top] High Throughput Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Assessment of the Metabolic Activity of Commercially Available Hepatocytes from 96-Well Plates. Gory W. Caldwell, John A. Mosucci and Enrique Chacon.
We have assessed the metabolic activity of freshly isolated and commercially preserved rat, monkey, and human primary hepatocytes in a 96 well plate format utilizing eight b-adrenolytic drugs as model compounds. Sample introduction from 96 well plates, HPLC solvent delivery, mass spectrometric (MS) detection, and/or UV detection were fully integrated and operated unattended. After drugs were incubated with hepatocytes for three or six hr, LC-MS analyses were carried out to determine the amount of drug which was not metabolized. Two LC-MS methods were used which had a sample throughput of 4 samples/hr and 12 samples/hr. Under optimal conditions, this hepatic assay could screen 300 samples/week or 1200 samples/month. Although freshly isolated hepatocytes were more active, commercially available rat, monkey, and human primary isolated hepatocytes metabolized drug substrates in similar relative rank orders. This drug-hepatocyte assay provides useful information for prioritizing pharmaceutical leads in relative rank orders or in a high/low manner according to their resistance toward liver metabolism.