Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (5): 1044-1054.doi: 10.1007/s40242-021-1307-z

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Contemporary Approaches to α,β-Dehydroamino Acid Chemical Modifications

ZHANG Mengqian1, HE Peiyang1, LI Yanmei1,2,3   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China;
    2. Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing 100069, P. R. China;
    3. Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China
  • Received:2021-08-10 Revised:2021-09-06 Online:2021-10-01 Published:2021-09-30
  • Contact: LI Yanmei E-mail:liym@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Nos.2018YFA0507600, 2019YFA0904200) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.92053108).

Abstract: As one of the most common unnatural amino acids(uAAs), α, β-dehydroamino acids(α,β-dhAAs) can be found in various ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides(RiPPs) and other naturally occurring peptides. In recent years, novel reactions for α,β-dhAA modification continue to emerge. Due to their unique electrophilicity different from 20 natural amino acids, α,β-dhAAs, especially dehydroalanine(Dha), have become powerful tools for site-selective protein modification. In this review, we mainly focus on the latest research progress of C-C and C-heteroatom(C-X, X=S, N, Se, Si, P, B) bond formation methods based on α,β-dhAAs in the past five years. Particularly, we pay much attention to the α,β-dhAA derivatization methodologies used in the late-stage modification for natural peptides and proteins. In addition, we also focus on the downstream functionalization and therapeutic biologic applications of these modifications.

Key words: Dehydroamino acid, Peptide, Protein, Chemical modification