Total synthesis of homogeneous variants of hirudin P6: a post-translationally modified anti-thrombotic leech-derived protein.

Hirudin P6 is a leech-derived anti-thrombotic protein which possesses two post-translational modifications, O-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation. In this study we report the ligation-based synthesis of a library of hirudin P6 proteins possessing homogeneous glycosylation and sulfation modifications. The nature of the modifications incorporated was shown to have a drastic effect on inhibition against both the fibrinogenolytic and amidolytic activities of thrombin and thus highlights a potential means for attenuating the biological activity of the protein.