Analogues of parathyroid hormone (1-34) that function as agonists of the parathyroid hormone receptor-1 and display modified activity profiles
11780901 · 2023-10-10
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
C07K14/635
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
International classification
Abstract
Described are polypeptide analogs of parathyroid hormone (PTH) that include an unnatural amino acid substitution at positions 7 or 8 from the N-terminus of the polypeptide. Also described are pharmaceutical compositions useful for treating hypoparathyroidism that contain the analogs and methods of using the analogs to treat hypoparathyroidism.
Claims
1. An isolated, unnatural peptide analogue comprising: PTH, a parathyroid hormone receptor (PTHR-1, PTHR-2) agonist-effective fragment of PTH, a parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), a PTHR-1 or PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of PTHrP, M-PTH, a PTHR-1 or PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of M-PTH, abaloparatide (BA058), or a PTHR-1 or PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of abaloparatide, in which at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β-amino acid residue; and salts thereof.
2. The peptide analogue of claim 1, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.2-amino acid residue.
3. The peptide analogue of claim 2, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.2-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
4. The peptide analogue of claim 1, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.3-amino acid residue.
5. The peptide analogue of claim 4, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.3-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
6. The peptide analogue of claim 1, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a (D)-α-amino acid.
7. The peptide analogue of claim 6, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a (D)-α-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
8. The peptide analogue of claim 1, selected from the group consisting of TABLE-US-00012 (SEQ ID NO: 8) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF, (SEQ ID NO: 14) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF, and (SEQ ID NO: 15) SVSEI LMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF; wherein L=(R*) β.sup.2 leucine; Q=(S*) β.sup.2 glutamine; V=(R*) β.sup.2 valine; and S=β.sup.2 serine.
9. The peptide analogue of claim 1, in which at least one additional naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 1 or 2 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β-amino acid residue or a (D)-α-amino acid.
10. An isolated, unnatural peptide analogue selected from the group consisting of: PTH, a parathyroid hormone receptor (PTHR-1, PTHR-2) agonist-effective fragment of PTH, a parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of PTHrP, a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of PTHrP, M-PTH, a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of M-PTH, a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of M-PTH, abaloparatide (BA058), a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of abaloparatide, and a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of abaloparatide, in which at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β-amino acid residue; and salts thereof.
11. The peptide analogue of claim 10, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.2-amino acid residue.
12. The peptide analogue of claim 11, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.2-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
13. The peptide analogue of claim 10, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.3-amino acid residue.
14. The peptide analogue of claim 13, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β.sup.3-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
15. The peptide analogue of claim 10, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a (D)-α-amino acid.
16. The peptide analogue of claim 15, wherein the at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a (D)-α-amino acid residue having a side-chain identical to the (L)-α-amino acid residue replaced.
17. The peptide analogue of claim 10, selected from the group consisting of TABLE-US-00013 (SEQ ID NO: 8) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF, (SEQ ID NO: 14) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF, and (SEQ ID NO: 15) SVSEI LMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF; wherein L=(R*) β.sup.2 leucine; Q=(S*) β.sup.2 glutamine; V=(R*) β.sup.2 valine; and S=β.sup.2 serine.
18. The peptide analogue of claim 10, in which at least one additional naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 1 or 2 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β-amino acid residue or a (D)-α-amino acid.
19. A pharmaceutical composition for treating hypoparathyroidism, the composition comprising a parathyroid hormone receptor agonist-effective amount of PTH, a parathyroid hormone receptor (PTHR-1, PTHR-2) agonist-effective fragment of PTH, a parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of PTHrP, a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of PTHrP, M-PTH, a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of M-PTH, a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of M-PTH, abaloparatide (BA058), a PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment of abaloparatide, and a PTHR-2 agonist-effective fragment of abaloparatide, in which at least one naturally occurring (L)-α-amino acid residue at position 6 or 7 from the N-terminus is replaced with a β-amino acid residue; and pharmaceutically suitable salts thereof, in combination with a pharmaceutically suitable carrier.
20. A method of treating hypoparathyroidism in a mammalian subject, including a human subject, the method comprising administering to the subject a parathyroid hormone receptor agonist-effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition as recited in claim 19.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Abbreviations and Definitions
(13) Agonist, Antagonist, Inverse Agonist: An inverse agonist is an agent that binds to the same receptor as an agonist but induces a pharmacological response opposite to that agonist. A prerequisite for an inverse agonist response is that the receptor must have a constitutive level of activity in the absence of any ligand. An agonist increases the activity of a receptor above its basal level, whereas an inverse agonist decreases the activity below the basal level. An antagonist binds to the receptor and blocks the activity of both agonists and inverse agonists.
(14) “Cyclically constrained” when referring to a β-amino acid or β-amino acid residue means a β-amino acid or β-amino acid residue in which the α-position and β-position carbon atoms in the backbone of the β-amino acid are incorporated into a substituted or unsubstituted C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, or heterocycle moiety, wherein heterocycle moieties may have 1, 2, or 3 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, S, and O. Generally preferred cyclically constrained β-amino acids have the α-position and β-position carbon atoms in the backbone incorporated into a substituted or unsubstituted C.sub.5 to C.sub.8 cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, or heterocycle moiety having one or more N, S, or O atoms as the heteroatom. Within any given PTH analog, the cyclically constrained β-amino acid residues may be the same or different.
(15) DIEA=N,N-diisopropylethylamine.
(16) DMF=dimethylformamide.
(17) GPCR=G protein-coupled receptor.
(18) HBTU=2-(1H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate.
(19) HOBt=N-hydroxybenzotriazole.
(20) MALDI-TOF-MS=matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
(21) PTH=mammalian parathyroid hormone (including human PTH), its proprotein, its preproprotein, and any PTHR-1 agonist-effective fragment thereof. In humans, the corresponding PTH gene encodes and expresses a preproprotein comprising the amino acid sequence:
(22) TABLE-US-00002 (SEQ. ID. NO: 20) MIPAKDMAKVMIVMLAICFLTKSDGKSVKKRSVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSME RVEWLRKKLQDVHNFVALGAPLAPRDAGSQRPRKKEDNVLVESHEKSLGE ADKADVNVLTKAKSQ.
(23) After post-translational processing, human PTH comprises the amino acid sequence
(24) TABLE-US-00003 (SEQ. ID. NO: 21) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNFVALGAPLAPRDAGSQR PRKKEDNVLVESHEKSLGEADKADVNVLTKAKSQ.
See U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reference sequence NP_000306.
(25) PTHR-1=parathyroid hormone receptor 1. hPTHR-1 designates the human version of the receptor; rPTHR-1 designates the rat version of the receptor. The prefix or suffix WT in combination with either designates “wild-type.”
(26) PTHrP=parathyroid hormone-related protein (SEQ. ID. NO: 19)
(27) TFA=trifluoroacetic acid.
(28) TBS=tris-buffered saline (i.e., tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane).
(29) WT=wild-type.
(30) Amino acid residues in the analogues disclosed herein that also appear in the corresponding natural protein/polypeptide are present in their L configuration. Unnatural α-amino acid substitutions are present in their D configuration. The terms “peptide” and “polypeptide” are used synonymously and refer to a polymer of amino acids which are linked via amide linkages. β-amino acid residues may be linear, unsubstituted, or substituted at the α- or β-position carbon atoms of the backbone (i.e., at the β.sup.2 or β.sup.3 carbon atoms) or may be conformationally constrained by a cyclic group encompassing the α and β backbone carbon atoms of the inserted β-amino acid residue. While not required, it is preferred that the β-amino acid residues are corresponding β.sup.3 versions of the α-amino acid residues they replace. That is, the side-chain on the β-position carbon (the β.sup.3 carbon) in the β-amino acid residue is the same as the side-chain on the α-amino acid residue it replaces and the α-position carbon (the β.sup.2 carbon) in the β-amino acid residue is unsubstituted.
(31) “Pharmaceutically suitable salts” means salts formed with acids or bases the addition of which does not have undesirable effects when administered to mammals, including humans. Preferred are the salts with acids or bases listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (or any other generally recognized pharmacopoeia) for use in humans. A host of pharmaceutically-suitable salts are well known in the art. For basic active ingredients, all acid addition salts are useful as sources of the free base form even if the particular salt, per se, is desired only as an intermediate product as, for example, when the salt is formed only for purposes of purification, and identification, or when it is used as intermediate in preparing a pharmaceutically-suitable salt by ion exchange procedures. Pharmaceutically-suitable salts include, without limitation, those derived from mineral acids and organic acids, explicitly including hydrohalides, e.g., hydrochlorides and hydrobromides, sulphates, phosphates, nitrates, sulphamates, acetates, citrates, lactates, tartrates, malonates, oxalates, salicylates, propionates, succinates, fumarates, maleates, methylene bis b hydroxynaphthoates, gentisates, isethionates, di p toluoyltartrates, methane sulphonates, ethanesulphonates, benzenesulphonates, p toluenesulphonates, cyclohexylsulphamates, quinates, and the like. Base addition salts include those derived from alkali or alkaline earth metal bases or conventional organic bases, such as triethylamine, pyridine, piperidine, morpholine, N methylmorpholine, and the like. Other suitable salts are found in, for example, Handbook of Pharmaceutical Salts, P. H. Stahl and C. G. Wermuch, Eds., © 2011, Wiley-VCH (Zurich, Switzerland) ISBN: 978-3906390512, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(32) Numerical ranges as used herein are intended to include every number and subset of numbers contained within that range, whether specifically disclosed or not. Further, these numerical ranges should be construed as providing support for a claim directed to any number or subset of numbers in that range. For example, a disclosure of from 1 to 10 should be construed as supporting a range of from 2 to 8, from 3 to 7, from 1 to 9, from 3.6 to 4.6, from 3.5 to 9.9, and so forth.
(33) All references to singular characteristics or limitations of the present invention shall include the corresponding plural characteristic or limitation, and vice-versa, unless otherwise specified or clearly implied to the contrary by the context in which the reference is made.
(34) All combinations of method or process steps as used herein can be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified or clearly implied to the contrary by the context in which the referenced combination is made.
(35) The methods, compounds and compositions of the present invention can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the method described herein, as well as any additional or optional ingredients, components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in synthetic organic chemistry, pharmacy, pharmacology, and the like.
(36) Overview:
(37) Alternative activated conformations of a receptor protein are likely to differ from one another in subtle ways..sup.4 Thus, making subtle modifications to a natural agonist could be fruitful for making compounds with diverse selectivities among functional receptor states. In the present invention, an unconventional strategy was used in which the backbone of a natural PTHR-1 agonist was altered, rather than the side-chain complement. The results show that backbone-modification can rapidly identify potent agonists with divergent receptor state selectivity patterns relative to a prototype peptide.
(38) More specifically, the initial studies that yielded the compounds disclosed and claimed herein were conducted to determine whether there is a correlation between βarr recruitment and receptor residence time of a PTHR1 agonist. The initial studies were thus conducted in two steps. First, the functional selectivity (Gs activation as indicated by cAMP production vs. βarr recruitment) of several PTHR1 agonists that display substantial differences in signaling duration were evaluated. Second, novel PTHR1 agonists were designed that have high functional selectivity and evaluated the signaling duration of these biased agonists.
(39) Design of PTH(1-34) Analogs:
(40) PTH is an 84-residue protein that controls key physiological processes, including the maintenance of extracellular levels of calcium and phosphate..sup.9 The N-terminal fragment PTH(1-34) matches full-length PTH in potency and efficacy at PTHR-1 and is the active ingredient in the osteoporosis drug teriparatide..sup.11 A crystal structure of the human PTHR-1 extracellular domain (ECD) bound to PTH(15-34) reveals that this segment forms an α-helix upon association with the receptor..sup.12 The bioactive conformation of the N-terminal portion of PTH is unknown. PTH(1-34) analogs containing unnatural residue substitutions in the N-terminal region were fabricated and their in vitro and in vivo activity as PTHR-1 agonists explored. Exemplary α/β-peptide analogs according to the present invention (working examples) are shown in
(41) Receptor Binding and Activation:
(42) Well-established radio-ligand-displacement assays.sup.5-7 were used to determine whether the α.fwdarw.β and L.fwdarw.D α replacements lead to variations in affinities for the R.sup.0 or RG state of hPTHR-1 relative to the prototype α-peptide PTH(1-34).sup.14,15 Agonist activity was determined by monitoring cAMP production in HEK293 cells that stably express PTHR-1 and the GloSensor-brand cAMP reporter and PTHR-1..sup.16
(43) The results of the binding and activity assays support the hypothesis that subtle modification of a prototype α-peptide via α.fwdarw.β and/or L.fwdarw.D α replacements enables the discovery of agonists with variations in receptor-state affinity profile relative to the α-peptide itself.
(44) Functional Selectivity of Reported R0- and RG-Selective PTHR1 Agonists:
(45) Relative to PTH (1-34) (SEQ. ID. NO: 16), BA058 (also known as abaloparatide; SEQ. ID. NO: 18; see
(46) Discovery of Highly G-Protein-Biased Signaling (“Gs”) PTHR1 Agonists with Good Potency Via N-Terminal Modification of PTH:
(47) In this work, it was found that several positions of N-terminal PTH can tolerate β.sup.2 and/or β.sup.3 amino acid substitutions. New PTHR1 agonists having high functional selectivity and good ligand potency were fabricated as a result. See
(48) Among Ligands 1-7 (SEQ. ID. NOS: 1-7, respectively), only Ligand 6, resulting from the incorporation of (S*)-β.sup.2Ile at the 5.sup.th position of PTH, induces appreciable functional selectivity toward Gs/cAMP; Ligands 1-5 and 7 do not show significant signaling bias relative to PTH (1-34) (SEQ. ID. NO: 14). See Table 1.
(49) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 1 Bias Factors of Ligands 1-7 ΔΔLogR.sub.cAMP/βarr1 ΔΔLogR.sub.cAMP/βarr2 Ligand 1 0.02 ± 0.06 0.12 ± 0.10 Ligand 2 0.01 ± 0.17 0.14 ± 0.07 Ligand 3 0.15 ± 0.13 0.33 ± 0.08 Ligand 4 0.24 ± 0.16 0.16 ± 0.16 Ligand 5 0.11 ± 0.08 0.14 ± 0.09 Ligand 6 0.63 ± 0.10 0.73 ± 0.11 Ligand 7 0.29 ± 0.13 0.41 ± 0.06
(50) In contrast, the 7.sup.th and 8.sup.th positions from the N-terminus of PTH(1-34) (explored in Ligands 8-13; SEQ. ID. NOS: 8-13, respectively) are sensitive spots for high functional selectivity. See
(51) As seen in the histogram in
(52) Washout Assay of Gs-Biased PTHR1 Agonists:
(53) Additional cell-based assays were pursued to elucidate the variation among in vivo responses observed for Ligands 8, 10, and 12, as contrasted to PTH(1-34). These “washout assays”.sup.7,8,21 assess the ability of the peptides to form stable ligand-receptor complexes capable of stimulating prolonged cAMP responses. The ability of a peptide to elicit prolonged cAMP responses via PTHR-1 following washout typically correlates with the affinity of that peptide for the R.sup.0 state..sup.7,8,21
(54) The three highly Gs-biased PTHR1 agonists, Ligands 8, 10, and 12, were tested in the washout assay. See
(55) Utility of Highly Gs-Biased PTHR1 Agonists:
(56) Gs-biased agonists of PTHR1 that cause transient receptor activation, like Ligands 8 and 12, useful for treating osteoporosis. Additionally, Gs-biased agonists that induce prolonged signaling duration, like Ligand 10, are useful for treating hypoparathyroidism. Without being limited to any underlying mechanism or biologicaly phenomenon, the sustained cAMP activation from a highly Gs-biased agonist, such as Ligand 10, could result from receptors that remain at the cell surface. This is because the relatively poor βarr recruitment ability of such a ligand should inhibit receptor internalization. (In contrast, sustained cAMP production induced by PTH (1-34) or LA-PTH involves internalized receptors). To test this hypothesis, a modified washout assay was designed in which the signaling durations of several PTHR1 agonists were compared in the presence of and in the absence of a non-internalized competitive antagonist, (D)-Trp.sup.12, Tyr.sup.34-bpTH (7-34). The results of this washout assay are shown in
(57) Previous research shows that LA-PTH has a very short lifetime in the bloodstream despite its prolonged signaling effect; this behavior has been explained by proposing that LA-PTH is very effective in inducing internalization of the receptor-agonist complex and this internalization removes LA-PTH from the bloodstream. If this hypothesis is correct, then it is possible that a highly Gs-biased agonist would have a long lifetime in the bloodstream, relative to LA-PTH, which might lead to an improvement in therapeutic effect for hypoparathyroidism.
(58) Prolonged cAMP signaling of a PTHR1 agonist can cause both catabolic and anabolic effects. Intermittent PTH (1-34) administration is currently used to decouple bone resorption from bone formation. Spatial control of cAMP production within the cell, resulting from GPCR endocytosis, can be crucial in terms of downstream effects of receptor activation. See Irannejad et al. (2017) “Functional selectivity of GPCR-directed drug action through location bias,” Nature Chemical Biology 13:799-806. The catabolic and anabolic effects of PTHR1 agonism might therefore be influenced by how effectively an agonist induces receptor endocytosis. This phenomenon can be evaluated using the novel ligands described herein. For example, despite its low efficiency in internalizing PTHR1, Ligand 10 can induce prolonged PTHR1 activation similar to PTH. Therefore, it is useful as a control ligand to study the potential spatial effect of prolonged endosomal PTHR1 activation.
(59) The analogs are also useful as probes for pinpointing differences in ligand recognition by PTH1R and PTH2R.
(60) ‘β scan’ of the N-terminal portion of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. Implementing backbone-modification involves replacing one α-amino acid residue or more in an all-α sequence with a homologous β-amino acid residue. The β residue retains the original side chain (or a similar side chain) but contains an additional methylene in the backbone relative to the α residue that was replaced. β.sup.2-homoamino acids, in which the side chain projects from the carbon adjacent to carbonyl have received little attention in the scientific literature because of diminished accessibility. As shown here, though, including β.sup.2-homoamino acids is important for achieving agonist selectivity.
(61) B-family GPCRs feature a large extracellular domain that binds to the C-terminal portion of a peptide agonist such as PTH(1-34); this portion of the agonist is usually α-helical in the bound state. The N-terminal portion of the agonist engages the transmembrane domain of the GPCR, but the receptor-bound conformations of most hormone N-terminal segments are unknown. In this work, it was hypothesized that α.fwdarw.β modifications in the N-terminal portion of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 would generate PTHR1 vs. PTHR2 selectivity. Thus, a β-scan of the first eight residues of this agonist was performed.
(62) Many enantiopure β.sup.3-homoamino acids with protecting groups necessary for solid-phase peptide synthesis are commercially available. In contrast, only a few protected β.sup.2-homoamino acids can be purchased. This practical distinction has skewed the functional evaluation of peptides containing β-amino acid residues toward β.sup.3 residues. Most prior work on peptides that contain α.fwdarw.β replacements (α/β-peptides) has focused on β.sup.3 residues that maintain the configuration of L-α-amino acids, which means S for most β.sup.3 residues but R in a few cases, such as β.sup.3-hSer or β.sup.3-hThr. Residues with this absolute stereochemistry, which we designate S* here [in other words, (R)-β.sup.3-hSer is designated (S*)-β.sup.3-hSer] can participate in right-handed α-helix-like secondary structures, as demonstrated crystallographically for numerous α/β-peptides containing 25-33% β residues distributed among L-α residues. In contrast, very little is known about the conformational or biological properties of α/β-peptides containing β.sup.2 residues. Here, a three-part approach to the N-terminal β-scan of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 was undertaken in which each of the first eight residues was replaced by the (S*)-β.sup.3, the (S*)-β.sup.2 or the (R*)-β.sup.2 homologue. For Met-8, the two β.sup.2-homonorleucine (β.sup.2-hNle) enantiomers were employed.
(63) Tables 2 and 3 summarize the effects of single α.fwdarw.β replacements on PTHR1 and PTHR2 agonist activity.
(64) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 2 Tolerance pattern of β.sup.2 and β.sup.3 amino acids for PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation. PTHR1 Activation: PTHR2 Activation: Derivative Derivative Po- EC.sub.50/PTH EC.sub.50 (0.38 nM) EC.sub.50/PTH EC.sub.50 (0.97 nM) si- (R*)- (S*)- (S*)- (R*)- (S*)- (S*)- tion β.sup.2AA β.sup.2AA β.sup.3AA β.sup.2AA β.sup.2AA β.sup.3AA 1 0.92 1.34 0.71 6.86
2 11.76 18.34 1.45
5.43
3 78.84 13.08 21.82 *** 9.61
4 60.26 28.42 27.26 *** *** 69.09 5 5.89 1.13 8.95 *** 17.23 10.92 6 20.61 1.11 22.24 59.70
7 0.95 1.24 2.21 47.64
40.28 8.sup.# 1.05 1.00 55.24 *** 11.85 *** Relative EC.sub.50 values of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 analogues containing a single homologous α .fwdarw. β replacement within the first eight residues for PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation, as indicated by cAMP production, normalized to the EC.sup.50 of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 itself. Bold denotes tolerance of α .fwdarw. β, i.e., the corresponding α/β-peptide is a full PTHR1 agonist with EC50 < 2.5 times the EC50 of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2.
denotes tolerance of α .fwdarw. β replacement (analogous standard to that used for PTHR1). *** denotes poor tolerance of β amino acid for PTHR2 activation. .sup.#Both β.sup.3-hMet and β.sup.3-hNle were tested at the 8.sup.th position; the value shown in table was the EC50 of β3-hMet (β.sup.3-hNle is poorly tolerated at the 8.sup.th position for both PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation).
(65) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 3 EC.sub.50 values of α/β PTH analogues for PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation. EC50 (nM) of PTHR1 Activation EC50 (nM) of PTHR2 Activation Position (R*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.3AA (R*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.3AA 1 0.35 ± 0.06 0.51 ± 0.07 0.27 ± 0.06 5.97 ± 1.21
2 4.47 ± 0.47 6.97 ± 1.00 0.55 ± 0.09
4.72 ± 1.04
3 29.96 ± 6.33 4.97 ± 0.72 8.29 ± 0.09 >100 8.36 ± 0.69
4 22.90 ± 1.89 10.80 ± 0.47 10.36 ± 1.87 >1000 >100 60.11 ± 9.82 5 2.24 ± 0.21 0.43 ± 0.06 3.40 ± 1.22 >100 14.99 ± 3.70 9.50 1.67 6 7.83 ± 0.40 0.42 ± 0.07 8.45 ± 1.35 51.94 ± 8.82
7 0.36 ± 0.11 0.47 ± 0.14 0.84 ± 0.12 41.45 ± 5.18
35.04 ± 2.84 8.sup.# 0.40 ± 0.07 0.38 ± 0.07 20.99 ± 2.30 >1000 10.31 ± 1.65 >100 β.sup.2-hNle was used instead of β.sup.2-hMet. #Both β.sup.3-hMet and β.sup.3-hNle were tested at the 8.sup.th position; the value shown in table was the EC50 of β.sup.3-hMet (β.sup.3-hNle is poorly tolerated at the 8.sup.th position for both PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation). Bold denotes tolerance of α .fwdarw. β, i.e., the corresponding α/β-peptide is a full PTHR1 agonist with EC50 < 2.5 times the EC50 of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2.
denotes tolerance of α .fwdarw. β replacement (analogous standard to that used for PTHR1).
(66) The assays employ HEK-293 cells that have been engineered to express the appropriate receptor. GloSensor-based detection of cAMP provides a read-out of receptor activation. (Binkowski, B. F. et al. “A Luminescent Biosensor with Increased Dynamic Range for Intracellular cAMP.” Acs Chemical Biology 6, 1193-1197 (2011).) Consistent with previous reports, PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 is very active in both assays (EC.sub.50=0.38 nM for PTHR1, and EC.sub.50=0.87 nM for PTHR2). (Carter, P. H. et al. Actions of the Small Molecule Ligands SW106 and AH-3960 on the Type-1 Parathyroid Hormone Receptor. Molecular Endocrinology 29, 307-321 (2015).)
(67) For PTHR1 activation, different patterns of substitution tolerance were observed among the α.fwdarw.β.sup.2 and α.fwdarw.β.sup.3 replacements. All three isomeric β residues were well-tolerated in place of Ser-1 or Leu-7, and none of the three was tolerated in place of Ser-3 or Glu-4. At the remaining positions, variable responses to α.fwdarw.β replacement were observed. Thus, for Val-2, the β.sup.3 replacement has little effect on agonist potency, but both β.sup.2 replacements cause significant declines in potency. For Ile-5, the β.sup.3 and (R*)-β.sup.2 replacements cause modest activity declines, but the (S*)-β.sup.2 replacement matches PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 in activity. Use of (S*)-β.sup.2-hGln at position 6 has no effect on agonist activity, but placing either β.sup.3-hGln or (R*)-β.sup.2-hGln at this site causes a substantial activity decline. Both enantiomers of β.sup.2-hNle are well-tolerated in place of Met-8, but use of either β.sup.3-hMet or β.sup.3-hNle at this position causes a substantial decline in activity. The overall trend among α.fwdarw.β.sup.3 replacements is consistent with a previously reported β.sup.3 scan of PTH (1-34)-NH.sub.2..sup.28
(68) The PTHR2 assay displayed a greater sensitivity to α.fwdarw.β replacements than did the PTHR1 assay. For several single-β substitutions, the decline in agonist activity was so profound that an EC.sub.50 value could not be determined. In contrast to the findings with PTHR1, there was no position among the first eight residues of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 at which all three isomeric α.fwdarw.β replacements were well tolerated. At position 1, the (S*)-β.sup.2 and β.sup.3 replacements had little effect on agonist potency, but the (R*)-β.sup.2 replacement caused a modest decline. At position 2, the (S*)-β.sup.2 replacement caused a modest activity decline, while the (R*)-β.sup.2 and β.sup.3 replacements were well tolerated. At the remaining sites, the (R*)-β.sup.2 replacements were uniformly unfavorable in terms of agonist potency, while the impact of (S*)-β.sup.2 replacements was quite variable, ranging from very disruptive (position 4) to well tolerated (positions 6 and 7). β.sup.3 replacements at positions 3-8 of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 exerted variable effects on PTHR2 agonist activity as well, but the pattern differed from that manifested among the (S*)-β.sup.2 replacements.
(69) Enhanced selectivity via double α.fwdarw.β replacement. Based on the β scan results summarized in Tables 2 and 3, it appeared possible to design PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 homologues containing α.fwdarw.β replacements at two sites in the N-terminal region that would display high selectivity for either PTHR1 activation or PTHR2 activation, in contrast to the potent activation of both receptors displayed by PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 itself. As a PTHR1-selective candidate, we examined α/β-peptide 14 (SEQ. ID. NO: 14) which contains α.fwdarw.(R*)-β.sup.2 replacements at positions 1 and 7. α/β-Peptide 15 (SEQ. ID. NO: 15) containing α.fwdarw.(R*)-β.sup.2 replacement at position 2 and α.fwdarw.β.sup.3 replacement at position 6, was evaluated as a PTHR2-selective candidate. The basis for these replacement choices is shown in Table 4.
(70) TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 4 Tolerance pattern of β residues for PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation. Tolerance Pattern of β AA Position (R*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.2AA (S*)-β.sup.3AA 1 * *# *# 2 # *# 3 # 4 5 * 6 *# # 7 * *# * 8 * * “*” denotes potent PTHR1-selective agonism; “#” denotes potent PTHR2-selective agonism; “*#” denotes potent agonism of both PTHR1 and PTHR2. Data represent mean ± s.e.m for ≥3 independent measurements. # β.sup.2-hNle was used instead of β.sup.2-hMet; both β.sup.3-hMet and β.sup.3-hNle were evaluated at the 8.sup.th position; the value shown is the EC.sub.50 of β.sup.3-hMet.
(71) Results summarized in Table 5 show that for both 14 and 15, the two α.fwdarw.β replacements function synergistically.
(72) TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 5 Signaling and binding properties of PTHR1- and PTHR2-selective α/β-peptide analogues of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. EC.sub.50, E.sub.max, R.sup.0/RG IC.sub.50 values for PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2, α/β-peptide 14, and α/β-peptide 15. PTHR1 PTHR2 R.sup.0-IC.sub.50 RG-IC.sub.50 R.sup.0-IC.sub.50 RG-IC.sub.50 Peptide EC.sub.50 (nM) E.sub.max (nM) (nM) EC.sub.50 (nM) E.sub.max (nM) (nM) PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 0.22 ± 0.04 100 6.95 ± 0.81 0.34 ± 0.06 1.07 ± 0.14 100 0.96 ± 0.48 0.63 ± 0.23 a/b-peptide 14 0.23 ± 0.04 100 ± 1 27.18 ± 7.22 0.13 ± 0.02 ND ND 4.94 ± 0.81 0.04 ± 0.01 a/b-peptide 15 22.90 ± 1.50 79 ± 6 5.25 ± 1.64 0.80 ± 0.08 0.13 ± 0.01 104 ± 2 0.64 ± 0.03 0.84 ± 0.19
(73)
(74) On one hand, neither replacement in 14, on its own, causes a diminution of PTHR1 agonist activity (Table 2), and implementing the two replacements simultaneously also does not cause an activity decline. On the other hand, each of the replacements in 14 leads to significant decline in PTHR2 agonist activity (˜6-fold and ˜40-fold), and the pairing generates an α/β-peptide that has almost no detectable activity for this receptor in this assay. For 15, the α.fwdarw.β replacements individually cause slight increases in agonist activity at PTHR2, and the combination of these backbone modifications leads to further potency enhancement relative to PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. But, each of the replacements in α/β-peptide 15 causes a significant decline in PTHR1 agonist potency (˜10-fold and ˜20-fold), and the combination leads to a more substantial potency decline (˜100-fold). Moreover, 15 reaches a maximum PTHR1 activation level that is only ˜80% of the maximum achieved by PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2.
(75) Binding to PTHR1 and PTHR2. The selective agonism displayed by α/β-peptides 14 and 15 relative to PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 (SEQ. ID. NO: 16) could arise because of differences relative to PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 in their affinities for PTHR1 and PTHR2, or because of differences in the abilities of 14 and 15 to activate each receptor upon binding. We conducted binding assays for PTHR1 and PTHR2 with these two PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 analogues in an effort to distinguish these two possibilities. See Table 5. Two conformational states have been proposed for PTHR1 and for PTHR2, one that is G protein-dependent (RG) and another that is G protein-independent)(R.sup.0..sup.5 Distinct assays are available for binding to the R.sup.0 and RG states for each receptor. For both PTHR1 and PTHR2, α/β-peptide 14 has higher RG affinity and lower R.sup.0 affinity than does PTH (1-34)-NH.sub.2. In contrast, α/β-peptide 15 has lower RG affinity than does PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 for both receptors, but 15 and PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 are comparable in terms of R.sup.0 affinity for both receptors. The PTHR1/PTHR2 R.sup.0 affinity ratios are very similar for 14, 15 and PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2, and the PTHR1/PTHR2 RG affinity ratios vary only by approximately six-fold among these three agonists.
(76) Collectively, these observations indicate that the selective agonism displayed by each of the α/β peptides arises mainly from selective receptor activation rather than from selective binding to one receptor or the other. Further evidence that a backbone-modified PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 homologue can maintain affinity for a receptor despite loss of agonist activity was obtained from the observation that α/β-peptide 14 functions as an antagonist of PTHR2 activation by PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. See
(77) Molecular basis of PTHR1 vs. PTHR2 selectivity. Previous receptor-mutation studies have identified sites within PTHR1 and PTHR2 that play critical roles in determining peptide agonist selectivity. (Bergwitz, C., Jusseaume, S. A., Luck, M. D., Juppner, H. & Gardella, T. J. Residues in the membrane-spanning and extracellular loop regions of the parathyroid hormone (PTH)-2 receptor determine signaling selectivity for PTH and PTH-related peptide. Journal of Biological Chemistry 272, 28861-28868 (1997).) For example, PTHrP (1-36)-NH.sub.2 is a potent agonist of PTHR1 and a very weak agonist of PTHR2; however, modifications at three sites in PTHR2, based on residues found at analogous sites in PTHR1, rescue the agonist activity of PTHrP (1-36)-NH.sub.2. Specifically, any of three modifications to the PTHR2 sequence, (i) replacement of residues 199-20 at the N-terminal side of extracellular loop 1 (ECL1) of PTHR2 with the corresponding segment of PTHR1, (ii) mutation of 1244 to L, or (iii) mutation of Y318 to I, generates a PTHR2 variant that is much more susceptible to activation by PTHrP (1-36)-NH.sub.2 relative to wide-type PTHR2 (data not shown). Evaluation of α/β-peptide 14 with this panel of three PTHR2 variants yields an activity profile that is distinct from the activity profile observed with PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2. At the level of receptor expression required to detect significant activity rescue for 100 nM PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 at the three mutant receptors, substantial activity at wild-type PTHR2 is observed for 100 nM α/β-peptide 14. Significant increases in agonist activity are observed for two of the PTHR2 variants relative to wild-type receptor (ECL1 chimera and Y318I), but a decrease is evident relative to wild-type receptor for the third PTHR2 variant, I244L. Detailed interpretation of these differences is not possible in the absence of atomic-resolution structural data for PTHR1 or PTHR2, but the distinct response profiles of PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 and α/β-peptide 14 to this set of receptor variants, particularly I244L, suggest that the molecular determinants underlying the PTHR1 vs. PTHR2 selectivity are at least partially different between PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 and α/β-peptide 14.
(78) Reciprocal point mutations of PTHR1 were investigated to see if they would enhance the signaling activity of PTHR2-selective agonists. TIP39-NH.sub.2 does not activate wild-type PTHR1 and appears to be a very weak agonist of mutants PTHR1-L2891 and PTHR1-1363Y (data not shown). α/β-Peptide 15 deviates partially from this pattern in that PTHR1-1363Y is even less susceptible to activation by 15 than is wild-type PTHR1. Overall, the observations with receptor variants suggest that the response of PTHR1 and PTHR2 to agonists that are selective by virtue of side chain identity (such as PTHrP (1-36)-NH.sub.2 or TIP39-NH.sub.2) involves a set of contact residues on the receptor that is partially distinct from those that mediate the response to agonists that are selective by virtue of backbone modification (such as α/β-peptides 14 and 15).
(79) Duration of activation for PTHR1 and PTHR2. To assess the duration of PTHR1 and PTHR2 activation induced by α/β-peptides 14 and 15, the time course of cAMP production by each receptor was examined after stimulation with an agonist and subsequent washing of the cells to remove unbound peptide (wash-out assay). PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 and the naturally selective agonists PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 and TIP39-NH.sub.2 were used as controls. During the initial “ligand-on” phase, cells stably expressing PTHR1 or PTHR2 were stimulated with an agonist concentration corresponding to ˜EC.sub.80; the medium contained D-luciferin. The luminescence emission caused by cAMP production was monitored until each agonist reached maximum response (E.sub.max; ˜14 min in each case), at which point unbound peptide was washed away. After the addition of fresh medium containing D-luciferin, the luminescence decay is measured. The area under the “ligand-off” curve (AUC) reflects the duration of signaling, which may be related to residence time of the agonist on the receptor but could have other origins at the molecular level. At PTHR1, the selective agonists α/β-peptide 14 and PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 lead to more transient signaling (smaller AUC) than does PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. See Table S1a. 6 At PTHR2, the selective agonists α/β-peptide 15 and TIP39-NH.sub.2 induce more prolonged signaling than does PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2. See Table S1b.7
(80) Data represent mean±s.e.m from 10 independent experiments. b. PTHR2 signaling durations of PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2, TIP39-NH.sub.2, and α/β-peptide 2. Data represent mean±s.e.m from 11 independent experiments
(81) TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 6 PTHR1 signaling durations of PTH(1-34)- NH.sub.2, PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2, and α/β-peptide 14. Normalized Normalized ligand-on ligand-off Peptide E.sub.max AUC PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 100 100 PTHrP(1-36)-NH.sub.2 102 ± 1 55 ± 2 α/β-peptide 14 99 ± 2 68 ± 3 Data represent mean ± s.e.m from 10 independent experiments.
(82) TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 7 PTHR2 signaling durations of PTH(1-34)- NH.sub.2, TIP39-NH.sub.2, and α/β-peptide 2. Normalized Normalized ligand-on ligand-off Peptide E.sub.max AUC PTH(1-34)-NH.sub.2 100 100 TIP39-NH.sub.2 99 ± 1 226 ± 22 α/β-peptide 1 103 ± 1 197 ± 16 Data represent mean ± s.e.m from 11 independent experiments.
(83) EC50 data for the complete series of systematic substitutions is shown in Table 8
(84) TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 8 Agonist activity toward hPTHR1 and hPTHR2 PTHR1 EC50 PTHR1 EC50 Polypeptide (nM) (nM) PTH: 0.38 ± 0.04 0.87 ± 0.09 SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 (SEQ. ID. NO: 16) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.35 ± 0.06 5.97 ± 1.21 (SEQ. ID. NO: 22) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 4.47 ± 0.47 0.21 ± 0.03 (SEQ. ID. NO: 23) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 29.96 ± 6.33 >100 (SEQ. ID. NO: 24) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 22.90 ± 1.89 >1000 (SEQ. ID. NO: 25) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 2.24 ± 0.21 >100 (SEQ. ID. NO: 26) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 7.83 ± 0.40 51.94 ± 8.82 (SEQ. ID. NO: 27) SVSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.36 ± 0.11 41.45 ± 5.18 (SEQ. ID. NO: 28) SVSEIQL.sup.NLHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.40 ± 0.07 >1000 (SEQ. ID. NO: 29) VSEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.27 ± 0.06 0.55 ± 0.16 (SEQ. ID. NO: 38) S
SEIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.55 ± 0.09 0.80 ± 0.14 (SEQ. ID. NO: 39) SV
EIQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 8.29 ± 0.09 2.37 ± 0.15 (SEQ. ID. NO: 40) SVS
IQLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 10.36 ± 1.87 60.11 ± 9.82 (SEQ. ID. NO: 41) SVSE
QLMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 3.40 ± 1.22 9.50 ± 1.67 (SEQ. ID. NO: 42) SVSEI
LMHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 8.45 ± 1.35 0.18 ± 0.02 (SEQ. ID. NO: 43) SVSEIQ
MHNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 0.84 ± 0.12 35.04 ± 2.84 (SEQ. ID. NO: 44) SVSEIQL
HNLGKHLNSMERVEWLRKKLQDVHNF—NH.sub.2 20.99 ± 2.30 >100 (SEQ. ID. NO: 45)
Nutritional Compositions:
(85) The present disclosure includes nutritional compositions. Such compositions include any food or preparation for human consumption (including for enteral or parenteral consumption) which when taken into the body (a) serve to nourish or build up tissues or supply energy and/or (b) maintain, restore or support adequate nutritional status or metabolic function.
(86) The nutritional composition comprises at least one PTH analog as described herein and may either be in a solid or liquid form. Additionally, the composition may include edible macronutrients, vitamins and minerals in amounts desired for a particular use. The amount of such ingredients will vary depending on whether the composition is intended for use with normal, healthy infants, children or adults having specialized needs such as those which accompany hyperglycemic metabolic conditions.
(87) Examples of macronutrients which may be added to the composition include but are not limited to edible fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Examples of such edible fats include but are not limited to coconut oil, soy oil, and mono- and diglycerides. Examples of such carbohydrates include but are not limited to glucose, edible lactose and hydrolyzed starch. Additionally, examples of proteins which may be utilized in the nutritional composition include but are not limited to soy proteins, electrodialysed whey, electrodialysed skim milk, milk whey, or the hydrolysates of these proteins.
(88) With respect to vitamins and minerals, the following may be added to the nutritional compositions described herein: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, selenium, iodine, and Vitamins A, E, D, C, and the B complex. Other such vitamins and minerals may also be added.
(89) Examples of nutritional compositions disclosed herein include but are not limited to infant formulas, dietary supplements, dietary substitutes, and rehydration compositions. Nutritional compositions of particular interest include but are not limited to those utilized for enteral and parenteral supplementation for infants, specialist infant formulas, supplements for the elderly, and supplements for those with hyperglycemia.
(90) The nutritional composition of the present invention may also be added to food even when supplementation of the diet is not required. For example, the composition may be added to food of any type including but not limited to margarines, modified butters, cheeses, milk, yoghurt, chocolate, candy, snacks, salad oils, cooking oils, cooking fats, meats, fish and beverages.
(91) In a preferred version, the nutritional composition is an enteral nutritional product, more preferably, an adult or pediatric enteral nutritional product. This composition may be administered to adults or children experiencing stress or having specialized needs due to chronic or acute disease states. The composition may comprise, in addition to PTH(1-34) analogs described herein, macronutrients, vitamins and minerals as described above. The macronutrients may be present in amounts equivalent to those present in human milk or on an energy basis, i.e., on a per calorie basis.
(92) Methods for formulating liquid or solid enteral and parenteral nutritional formulas are well known in the art. An enteral formula, for example, may be sterilized and subsequently utilized on a ready-to-feed (RTF) basis or stored in a concentrated liquid or powder. The powder can be prepared by spray drying the formula prepared as indicated above, and reconstituting it by rehydrating the concentrate. Adult and pediatric nutritional formulas are well known in the art and are commercially available (e.g., Similac®-brand and Ensure®-brand formulas from from Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio). A PTH(1-34) analog produced in accordance with the present disclosure may be added to commercial formulas of this type.
(93) The energy density of the nutritional compositions in liquid form may range from about 0.6 Kcal to about 3 Kcal per ml. When in solid or powdered form, the nutritional supplements may contain from about 1.2 to more than 9 Kcals per gram, preferably about 3 to 7 Kcals per gm. In general, the osmolality of a liquid product should be less than 700 mOsm and, more preferably, less than 660 mOsm.
(94) Pharmaceutical Compositions:
(95) Also disclosed herein are pharmaceutical compositions comprising one or more of the PTH analogs or a pharmaceutically suitable salt thereof as described herein. More specifically, the pharmaceutical composition may comprise one or more of the PTH analogs as well as a standard, well-known, non-toxic pharmaceutically suitable carrier, adjuvant or vehicle such as, for example, phosphate buffered saline, water, ethanol, polyols, vegetable oils, a wetting agent or an emulsion such as a water/oil emulsion. The composition may be in either a liquid, solid or semi-solid form. For example, the composition may be in the form of a tablet, capsule, ingestible liquid or powder, injectible, suppository, or topical ointment or cream. Proper fluidity can be maintained, for example, by maintaining appropriate particle size in the case of dispersions and by the use of surfactants. It may also be desirable to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars, sodium chloride, and the like. Besides such inert diluents, the composition may also include adjuvants, such as wetting agents, emulsifying and suspending agents, sweetening agents, flavoring agents, perfuming agents, and the like.
(96) Suspensions, in addition to the active compounds, may comprise suspending agents such as, for example, ethoxylated isostearyl alcohols, polyoxyethylene sorbitol and sorbitan esters, microcrystalline cellulose, aluminum metahydroxide, bentonite, agar-agar and tragacanth or mixtures of these substances.
(97) Solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules can be prepared using techniques well known in the art of pharmacy. For example, PTH analogs produced as described herein can be tableted with conventional tablet bases such as lactose, sucrose, and cornstarch in combination with binders such as acacia, cornstarch or gelatin, disintegrating agents such as potato starch or alginic acid, and a lubricant such as stearic acid or magnesium stearate. Capsules can be prepared by incorporating these excipients into a gelatin capsule along with antioxidants and the relevant PTH analog.
(98) For intravenous administration, the analogs may be incorporated into commercial formulations such as Intralipid©-brand fat emulsions for intravenous injection. (“Intralipid” is a registered trademark of Fresenius Kabi A B, Uppsalla, Sweden.) Where desired, the individual components of the formulations may be provided individually, in kit form, for single or multiple use. A typical intravenous dosage of a representative PTH analog as described herein is from about 0.1 mg to 100 mg daily and is preferably from 0.5 mg to 20 mg daily. Dosages above and below these stated ranges are specifically within the scope of the claims.
(99) Possible routes of administration of the pharmaceutical compositions include, for example, enteral (e.g., oral and rectal) and parenteral. For example, a liquid preparation may be administered, for example, orally or rectally. Additionally, a homogenous mixture can be completely dispersed in water, admixed under sterile conditions with physiologically acceptable diluents, preservatives, buffers or propellants in order to form a spray or inhalant. The route of administration will, of course, depend upon the desired effect and the medical stated of the subject being treated. The dosage of the composition to be administered to the patient may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art and depends upon various factors such as weight of the patient, age of the patient, immune status of the patient, etc., and is ultimately at the discretion of the medical professional administering the treatment.
(100) With respect to form, the composition may be, for example, a solution, a dispersion, a suspension, an emulsion or a sterile powder which is then reconstituted. The composition may be administered in a single daily dose or multiple doses.
(101) The present disclosure also includes treating hypoparathyroid disorders in mammals, including humans, by administering an anti-hypoparathyroid-effective and/or PTHR agonist-effective amount of one or more the PTH analogs described herein. In particular, the compositions of the present invention may be used to treat hypoparathyroid conditions of any and all description.
(102) It should be noted that the above-described pharmaceutical and nutritional compositions may be utilized in connection with non-human animals, both domestic and non-domestic, as well as humans.
(103) Peptide Synthesis and Purification:
(104) Peptides were synthesized as C-terminal amides on NovaPEG rink amide resin (EMD-Millipore, Billerica, Mass.) using previously reported microwave-assisted solid-phase conditions based on Fmoc protection of main chain amino groups..sup.31 Briefly, protected amino acids were activated with 2-(1H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HB TU) and N-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOB t) in the presence of N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIEA). The growing peptide chain was deprotected using 20% piperdine in DMF. Protected ƒ3.sup.3-homoamino acids were purchased from PepTech Corporation (Bedford, Mass.).
(105) After synthesis, the peptides were cleaved from the resin and side chains were deprotected using reagent K (82.5% TFA, 5% phenol, 5% H.sub.2O, 5% thioanisole, 2.5% ethanedithiol).sup.31 for two hours. The TFA solution was dripped into cold diethyl ether to precipitate the deprotected peptide. Peptides were purified on a prep-C18 column using reverse phase-HPLC. Purity was assessed by analytical RP-HPLC (solvent A: 0.1% TFA in water, solvent B: 0.1% TFA in acetonitrile, C18 analytical column (4.6×250 mm), flow rate 1 mL/min, gradient 10-60% B solvent over 50 minutes). Masses were measured by MALDI-TOF-MS.
(106) Protease Stability:
(107) An HPLC assay was used to assess proteolytic stability..sup.30,32 Peptide concentration was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy (calculated from the UV-vis absorption at 280 nm, ε.sub.280 nm=5,690 M.sup.−1 cm.sup.−1 for all peptides except D6 and D7, ε.sub.280 nm=11,380 M.sup.−1 cm.sup.−1 based on an extinction coefficient for the tryptophan sidechain chromophore of 5,690 M.sup.−1 cm.sup.−1)..sup.33 Peptide stock solutions were prepared in degassed water to a concentration of 200 μM. Sequencing-grade trypsin from bovine pancreas was purchased from Sigma Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.) and prepared to a stock concentration of 100 m/mL in 1 mM HCl. The protease reaction was carried out in 0.6 mL Eppendorf tubes at room temperature. The reaction solution was prepared by combining 40 μL of 200 μM peptide (final concentration 40 μM), 20 μL of 10×TBS pH 8.5 (final concentration 15 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl, or 1×TBS), 130 μL of water, and 10 μL of 100 m/mL protease (added last, final concentration 5 m/mL, in a total volume of 200 μL). Each proteolysis experiment was run in duplicate. Following addition of protease, the reaction was timed and quenched by combining a 50 μL aliquot of the proteolysis mixture with 50 μL of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile. A portion (75 μL) of the quenched reaction mixture was injected onto an analytical RP-HPLC (see peptide synthesis and purification section above), and peaks were analyzed. The time course of peptide degradation was experimentally determined by integrating the area of the peak corresponding to the non-hydrolyzed peptide in a series of HPLC traces, with duplicate proteolysis reactions being used to generate error bars corresponding to the standard deviation. The final 50 μL of the reaction solution was used to acquire MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry data for identification of peptide fragments resulting from proteolysis. Proteolysis was observed at all predicted trypsin cut sites for PTH(1-34). Shown in
(108) Binding and cAMP Dose Response:
(109) Reported IC.sub.50 and EC.sub.50 values are the average of ≥4 independent measurements. Each assay comprises ≥7 data points (different concentrations) per α/β-peptide, with each data point representing the average from duplicate wells. Binding to the RG and R.sup.0 conformations of the human or rat PTHR-1 was assessed by competition assays performed in 96-well plates by using membranes from transiently transfected COS-7 cells as previously described..sup.6,7 In brief, binding to R.sup.0 was assessed by using .sup.125I-PTH(1-34) as tracer radio-ligand and including GTPγS in the reaction (1×10.sup.−5 M). Binding to RG was assessed by using membranes containing a high-affinity, negative-dominant G.sub.aS subunit (G.sub.αS ND).sup.15, and .sup.125I-M-PTH(1-15).sup.6 as tracer radio-ligand.
(110) cAMP signaling was assessed using HEK-293-derived cell lines that stably express the GloSensor™-brand cAMP reporter (Promega Corp.) along with either the WT human PTHR-1 (GP-2.3 cells) or WT rat PTHR-1 (GR-35 cells). For cAMP dose-response assays, monolayers of confluent HEK 293 cells were pre-incubated with buffer containing d-luciferin (0.5 mM) in 96 well plates at room temperature until a stable baseline level of luminescence was established (30 min). Varying concentrations of agonist were then added, and the time course of luminescence response was recorded using a Perkin Elmer plate reader following α/β-peptide addition. The maximal luminescence response (observed 12-16 min after ligand addition) was used for generating dose response curves.
(111) “Washout” Assays:
(112) The duration of PTH analog stimulated cAMP response following removal of the solution containing dissolved peptide from the confluent HEK293 cell monolayers has been shown to be predictive of the duration of in vivo calcemic responses in mice..sup.8 This parameter of in vitro PTH analog performance shows strong positive correlation with R.sup.0 binding affinity (high R.sup.0 binding affinity correlates with prolonged cAMP signaling following washout). Washout assays were carried out for PTH(1-34), LA-PTH, and Ligands 8, 10, 12, and 100 to assess the contribution of altered R.sup.0 binding affinity to the duration of calcemic responses observed in vivo. M-PTH(1-34) (data not shown), a sidechain-altered PTH analog that has previously been shown to induce prolonged responses following washout and prolonged calcemic response in vivo with native-like bioavailability, was included as a control. HEK293 cell monolayers expressing rat PTHR-1 (GR35 cells) were treated with ligand in for 14 minutes. This buffer was then discarded, and the cell monolayer was rinsed (2×). Buffer containing luciferin was introduced for 120 minutes. Luminescence response was recorded before and after washout, with luminescence readings recorded every 2 minutes. The area under the curve (AUC) for luminescence response curve was determined using GraphPad Prism.
(113) In Vivo Pharmacology: Calcemic Response:
(114) PTH(1-34) causes a transient rise in the blood concentration of Ca.sup.2+, which peaks after about one hour..sup.8 Okazaki et al. have proposed that the calcemic effect duration resulting from injection of a PTHR-1 agonist is controlled, at least in part, by affinity for the R.sup.0 state of the receptor..sup.8 According to this hypothesis, agonists with high R.sup.0 affinity can remain bound to the receptor through multiple cycles of G.sub.α binding and release, which should induce prolonged signaling..sup.7 The pathways by which PTH is removed from circulation have not been fully elucidated, but enzymatic degradation probably contributes to the rapid disappearance of PTH(1-34) in vivo..sup.20
(115) To evaluate calcemic response, mice (C57BL/6, male, age 9-12 weeks) are treated in accordance with the ethical guidelines adopted by Massachusetts General Hospital. Mice (n=5 per compound) and are injected subcutaneously with vehicle (10 mM citric acid/150 mM NaCl/0.05% Tween-80, pH 5.0) or vehicle containing PTH(1-34) or one of the ligands disclosed herein at a dose of 20 nmol/kg body weight. Blood is withdrawn just prior to injection (t=0) or at times thereafter. Tail vein blood is collected and immediately used for analysis. Blood Ca.sup.2+ concentration is measured with a Chiron Diagnostics model 634 Ca.sup.2+/pH analyzer.
(116) In Vivo Pharmacokinetics:
(117) Blood content of the ligands described herein analog is assessed in plasma from mice injected with vehicle or vehicle containing a ligand as described herein at a dose of 20 nmol/kg body weight in an experiment performed separately from the calcemic response assays described above. Blood is withdrawn just prior to injection (t=0) or at times thereafter. Tail vein blood is collected and treated with protease inhibitors (aprotinin, leupeptin, EDTA), centrifuged to remove blood cells, mixed with cAMP response assay buffer, and administered to GP2.3 cells. The raw luminescence readouts recorded in this assay are converted to blood peptide concentrations through use of a standard curve relating luminescence response to known peptide concentrations under identical assay conditions.
(118) Data Calculations:
(119) Data were processed by using the Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism 4.0 software packages. Data from binding and cAMP dose—response assays were analyzed using a sigmoidal dose—response model with variable slope. Washout responses were assessed by quantifying the area under the luminescence response curve (AUC) following washout. Post-washout AUC was normalized by dividing the post-washout AUC by the pre-washout AUC. Paired data sets were statistically compared by using Student's t test (two-tailed) assuming unequal variances for the two sets.
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