Mapping and sequencing the genetic blueprint in human, mice, yeast and other model organisms has created challenges and opportunities for chemistry, biology and human medicine. An understanding of the function of each of the approximately 25,000 genes in humans, and the biological circuitry that controls these genes will be driven in part by new technologies from the world of chemistry. Many cellular events that lead to cancer and the progression of human disease represent aberrant gene expression. Small molecules that can be programmed to mimic transcription factors and bind a large repertoire of DNA sequences in the human genome would be useful tools in biology and potentially in human medicine. Polyamides are synthetic oligomers programmed to read the DNA double helix. They are cell permeable, bind chromatin and have been shown to downregulate endogenous genes in cell culture.

Dedicated to Professor Dieter Seebach on the occasion of his 65th birthday Crescent-shaped polyamides composed of aromatic amino acids, i.e., 1-methyl-1H-imidazole Im, 1-methyl-1H-pyrrole Py, and 3-hydroxy-1H-pyrrole Hp, bind in the minor groove of DNA as 2 : 1 and 1 : 1 ligand/DNA complexes. DNA-Sequence specificity can be attributed to shape-selective recognition and the unique corners or pairs of corners presented by each heterocycle(s) to the edges of the base pairs on the floor of the minor groove. Here we examine the relationship between heterocycle structure and DNA-sequence specificity for a family of five-membered aromatic amino acids. By means of quantitative DNase-I footprinting, the recognition behavior of polyamides containing eight different aromatic amino acids, i.e., 1-methyl-1H-pyrazole Pz, 1H-pyrrole Nh, 5-methylthiazole Nt, 4-methylthiazole Th, 3-methylthiophene Tn, thiophene Tp, 3-hydroxythiophene Ht, and furan Fr, were compared with the polyamides containing the parent-ring amino acids Py, Im, and Hp for their ability to discriminate between the four WatsonÀCrick base pairs in the DNA minor groove. Analysis of the data and molecular modeling showed that the geometry inherent to each heterocycle plays a significant role in the ability of polyamides to differentiate between DNA sequences. Binding appears sensitive to changes in curvature complementarity between the polyamide and DNA. The Tn/Py pair affords a modest 3-fold discrimination of T ¥ A vs. A ¥ T and suggests that an S-atom in the thiophene ring prefers to lie opposite T not A.

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The discrimination of the four Watson-Crick base pairs by minor groove DNA-binding polyamides have been attributed to the specificity of three five-membered aromatic amino acid subunits, 1-methyl-1H-imidazole (Im), 1-methyl-1H-pyrrole (Py), and 3-hydroxy-1H-pyrrole (Hp) paired four different ways. The search for additional ring pairs that demonstrate DNA-sequence specificity has led us to a new class of 6-5 fused bicycle rings as minor groove recognition elements. The affinities and specificities of the hydroxybenzimidazole/pyrrole (Hz/Py) and hydroxybenzimidazole/benzimidazole (Hz/Bi) pairs for each of the respective Watson-Crick base pairs within the sequence context 5'-TGGXCA-3' (X = A, T, G, C) were measured by quantitative DNaseI footprinting titrations. The Hz/Py and Hz/Bi distinguish T.A from A.T. Hairpin polyamides containing multiple Hz/Py pairs were examined and were shown to mimic the Hp/Py pair with regard to affinity and specificity. Therefore, the Hz/Py pair may be considered a second-generation replacement for the Hp/Py pair.

The development of new antibacterial therapeutic agents capable of halting microbial resistance is a chief pursuit in clinical medicine. Classes of antibiotics that target and destroy bacterial membranes are attractive due to the decreased likelihood that bacteria will be able to generate resistance to this mechanism. The amphipathic cyclic decapeptide, Tyrocidine A, is a model for this class of antibiotics. Tyrocidine A is composed of a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic face, allowing for insertion into bacterial membranes, creating porous channels and destroying membrane integrity. We have used a combination of molecular modeling and solid phase synthesis to prepare Tyrocidine A and analogues 1-8. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC's) of these compounds were determined for a host of gram positive species and E. coli as a representative gram negative bacterium. Analogues 2 and 5 demonstrated moderate 2 to 8-fold increases in antibacterial activity over the parent Tyrocidine A for a variety of pathogenic microbes. (Best MIC's for E. coli 32 μg/mL and 2 μg/mL for most gram positives) Examination of the structure activity relationship between the analogues demonstrated a preference for increased amphipathicity but did not show a clear preference for increasing hydrophilicity versus hydrophobicity in improving antibacterial activity. Of note, movement of positively charged lysine residues or neutral pentafluorophenyl residues to different positions within the cyclopeptide ring system demonstrated improvements in antibacterial activity.