Enzymatic Synthesis of Dehydroderivatives from Proline-Containing Cyclic Dipeptides and Their Effects toward Cell Division

Abstract

We have previously isolated cyclo(L-Pro-L-Tyr) and cyclo(L-Phe-L-Pro) from an actinomycete by a novel enzymatic conversion-guided method. Their tetradehydro derivatives, cyclo(ΔPro-ΔTyr) and cyclo(ΔPhe-ΔPro), were enzymatically prepared. Neither of them inhibited cell division, in contrast to other tetradehydro cyclic dipeptides prepared previously. This result suggests that an NH proton in a diketopiperazine ring and/or conformation of the compound are important for the activity.