Developing potent backbone cyclic peptides bearing the shared epitope sequence as rheumatoid arthritis drug-leads

A SE mimetic agonist that activates NO production in the low nM range was developed. This backbone cyclic peptide, named c(HS4-4), is also completely stable towards enzymatic degradation. The enhanced activity along with the significant improved stability towards enzymatic degradation marks this peptide as a promising lead molecule for RA therapy.