Convergent chemoenzymatic synthesis of a library of glycosylated analogues of pramlintide: structure–activity relationships for amylin receptor agonism

Pramlintide (Symlin®), a synthetic analogue of the naturally occurring pancreatic hormone amylin, is currently used with insulin in adjunctive therapy for type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Herein we report a systematic study into the effect that N-glycosylation of pramlintide has on activation of amylin receptors. A highly efficient convergent synthetic route, involving a combination of solid phase peptide synthesis and enzymatic glycosylation, delivered a library of N-glycosylated variants of pramlintide bearing either GlcNAc, the core N-glycan pentasaccharide [Man3(GlcNAc)2] or a complex biantennary glycan [(NeuAcGalGlcNAcMan)2Man(GlcNAc)2] at each of its six asparagine residues. The majority of glycosylated versions of pramlintide were potent receptor agonists, suggesting that N-glycosylation may be used as a tool to optimise the pharmacokinetic properties of pramlintide and so deliver improved therapeutic agents for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.