Synthesis of Peptides from α- and β-Tubulin Containing Glutamic Acid Side-Chain Linked Oligo-Glu with Defined Length

Abstract EN

Side-chain oligo- and polyglutamylation represents an important posttranslational modification in tubulin physiology.

The particular number of glutamate units is related to specific regulatory functions.

In this work, we present a method for the synthesis of building blocks for the Fmoc synthesis of peptides containing main chain glutamic acid residues that carry side-chain branching with oligo-glutamic acid.

The two model peptide sequences CYEEVGVDSVEGEG-E(Ex)-EEGEEY and CQDATADEQG-E(Ex)-FEEEEGEDEA from the C-termini of mammalian α1- and β1-tubulin, respectively, containing oligo-glutamic acid side-chain branching with lengths of 1 to 5 amino acids were assembled in good yield and purity.

The products may lead to the generation of specific antibodies which should be important tools for a more detailed investigation of polyglutamylation processes.