Discovery of a Subnanomolar Helical d-Tridecapeptide Inhibitor of γ-Secretase

Gamma-secretase is the second of two proteolytic enzymes responsible for the release of the amyloid beta-peptide implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. Here, we used solid-phase synthesis to generate a new series of helical peptides as gamma-secretase inhibitors, one of which, 11, showed an IC(50) of 140 pM in a cell-free enzyme assay.