Synthesis and some pharmacological properties of [1-.beta.-mercapto-.beta.,.beta.-diethylpropionic acid,2-(3,5-dibromo-L-tyrosine)]oxytocin

The synthesis of the protected polypeptide precursor of [1-beta-mercapto-beta,beta-diethylpropionic acid,2-(3,5-dibromo-L-tyrosine)]oxytocin was performed in a stepwise manner by solution techniques. This analog of oxytocin has two modifications, each of which taken alone gives analogs which inhibit some of the pharmacological responses to oxytocin. The S-ethylcarbamoyl protecting groups of beta-Mpa(beta-Et2)(Ec)-Dbt-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys(Ec)-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 were removed in refluxing liquid NH3, and the resulting disulfhydryl compound was oxidatively cyclized in H2O-MeOH with ICH2CH2I. Purification was effected by partition chromatography and gel filtration. The analog possesses antioxytocic (pA2 = 7.08) and antiavian vasodepressor (pA2 = 7.38) activities but has neither agonist nor antagonist activity in the rat pressor assay. These potencies are close to those exhibited by [1-beta-mercaptopropionic acid,2-(3,5-dibromo-L-tyrosine)]oxytocin but different from those of [1-beta-mercapto-beta,beta-diethylpropionic acid]oxytocin.