AUTHOR=Su Zhen , Liu Chao , Cong Wei , He Shipeng , Su Li , Hu Honggang TITLE=Design, Synthesis, and Antitumor Activity Study of All-Hydrocarbon-Stapled B1-Leu Peptides JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.840131 DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.840131 ISSN=2296-2646 ABSTRACT=B1-Leu peptide is a structural optimization compound derived from lysine-rich and phenylalanine-rich antimicrobial peptide (AMP) Cathelicidin-BF. It has shown promising anti-bacterial and anti-tumor biological activity. However, linear peptides are not the best choice for novel drug development due to their poor medicinal properties. In this study, various all-hydrocarbon stapled B1-Leu derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their secondary structure, protease stability, anti-tumor and hemolytic activity were also investigated to evaluate their clinical value for cancer therapy. Among them, B1-L-3 and B1-L-6 showed both superior stability and anti-tumor activity, showing that they are promising lead compounds for the development of novel cancer therapeutics.