Contribution of the B16 and B26 tyrosine residues to the biological activity of insulin

We report the synthesis and biological evaluation of five insulin analogues in which one or both of the B-chain tyrosine residues have been substituted. B16 Phe]insulin and B16 Trp]insulin display a very modest reduction in potency (c. 65%) relative to porcine insulin; B26 Phe]insulin is less active (30–50%), and the doubly substituted B16 Phe, B26 Phe]insulin displays still lower potency (c. 35%). The further substitution of Asp for B10 His in B16 Phe, B26 Phe]insulin raises its activity to approximately twofold greater than natural insulin, an increase of approximately fivefold over the parent compound. We conclude that the bulk and/or aromaticity of the amino acid residue at position B16, but not its hydrogen-bonding capacity, contributes to the biological activity of the hormone. We further conclude that hydrogen-bonding capacity or special side-chain packing characteristics are required at the B26 position for insulin to display high biological activity.