Henrik Franzyk
Associate Professor
Henrik Franzyk (HF) has for more than 15 years designed and synthesized biologically active peptides, peptidomimetics and polyamines as well as glycolipids and cationic lipids (both used as adjuvants and/or components for drug delivery by nanoparticles). In these contexts, HF has performed optimization studies of several lead structures via extensive medicinal chemistry.
See also website for the research group Peptide-based Drug Research:
https://drug.ku.dk/disciplines/peptides-and-proteins/peptide-based-drug-research/
See also website for the research cluster Cancer and Infectious Diseases:
https://drug.ku.dk/clusters/cancer-and-infectious-diseases/
Current projects are supported by Novo Nordisk Foundation (Challenge project partnership: Center for Peptide-Based Antibiotics), Norwegian Research Council (co-PI in: A platform for development of peptide-based antimicrobials for treatment of infections with drug-resistant bacteria, and The Danish Research Council (DFF1 project: Exploration of efflux pump inhibitor conjugates via Trojan-horse and shuttle approaches).
The main scientific outcome during 2018-2023 concerns the following:
(i) Potent antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and antibacterial peptidomimetics with activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.
(ii) Design and synthesis of antisense PNA-peptide conjugates (e.g., AMPs covalently linked to peptide nucleic acid oligomers).
(iii) Immunomodulatory peptidomimetics capable of LPS- and LTA-neutralization as well as nanomolar agonistic or antagonistic selective effects on formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2).
(iv) Development of improved methodologies in solid-phase synthesis (SPS) of peptidomiumetics and on-resin modification of peptides.
(v) Components for drug delivery and nanoparticular drug formulations, e.g. of siRNA aiming at silencing of genes (or the resulting mRNA) involved in chronic diseases.
During 2018-2023 these studies have been published in 49 articles in peer-reviewed journals together with 12 other publications. Currently, HF has published 178 peer-reviewed articles and monographies, 2 book chapters, and 88 other research contributions (e.g., patents, popular science communications, proceedings, and posters).
Bibliometric data:
h-index: 34 (Web of Science); 40 (Google Scholar)
i10-index: 123 (Web of Science); 135 (Google Scholar)
Citations: 4062 (cf. Web of Science – search in all databases);
5409 (cf. Google Scholar)
Primary fields of research
(i) SAR studies of peptide-based/peptidomimetic antibacterial compounds as well as potentiators and conjugates of antibiotics;
(ii) Bacterial delivery of antibiotics (including AMPs and antisense PNA oligomers);
(iii) Improved macromolecular drug delivery (targeting peptides and cationic lipids for nanoparticles with siRNA/mRNA; lipid adjuvants for vaccines);
(iv) Mechanisms and structural optimization of immunomodulating peptides and peptidomimetics;
(v) Solid-phase synthesis method development
Teaching
(i) Biopharmaceuticals: Bioorganic Chemistry (theory and exercises; course director)
(ii) Postdoctoral, PhD, MSc and BSc projects within design of antimicrobial compounds, peptide chemistry, drug conjugates, and solid-phase synthesis methods
Current research
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Partnership in Center for Peptide-Based Antibiotics (CEPAN):
In response to the critically increasing worldwide threat to human health posed by emergence of bacterial resistance to currently used antibiotics, the overall aim of the center is to establish a discovery platform that focuses on peptide-based antibiotics by exploiting unleashed advantages of peptides that interact with the bacterial envelope and/or intracellular target(s).
Membrane-permeabilizing adjuvant antibiotics have been discovered and investigated as a means for circumventing resistance to current antibiotics and to sensitize bacteria to antibiotics that they are inherently resistant to. Also, synergistic combinations representing a multimodal treatment regimen are examined as an approach for reducing risk of resistance development. In addition, novel peptide carriers for efficient bacterial uptake of potential antibacterial compounds (e.g., antisense PNA oligomers) have been explored. Ongoing studies concern development of novel cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics (e.g., analogues of colistin) as well as optimization of peptidomimetics exerting bacterial killing and/or adjuvant effects when combined with existing antibiotics.
Center for Peptide-Based Antibiotics (CEPAN) is funded by an NNF Challenge grant and headed by Prof. P.E. Nielsen (Dept. Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen). See more at: http://cepan.ku.dk
Group members (in the Franzyk lab) comprise: Previous (Postdocs/PhD student): Anita Wester (Delivery moieties for antibacterial antisense PNA oligomers), Ashif Yasin Shaikh (PNA synthesis and antibiotic-peptide conjugates), and Nicki Frederiksen (Antimicrobial peptides and peptidomimetics); current (PhD student): Johan Storm Jørgensen (Novel cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics).
Selected publications:
Frederiksen, N.; Loukas, S.; Mudaliar, C.; Domraceva, I.; Kreichberga, A.; Pugovics, O.; Zabicka, D.; Tomczak, M.; Wygoda, W.; Björkling, F.; Franzyk, H. Peptide/β-Peptoid hybrids with ultrashort PEG-like moieties: Effects on hydrophobicity, antibacterial and hemolytic properties. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 7041 (17 pages). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22137041
Mood, E. H.; Goltermann, L.; Brolin, C.; Cavaco, L. M.; Yavari, N.; Frederiksen, N.; Nejad, A. J.; Franzyk, H.; Nielsen, P. E. Antibiotic potentiation in multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria by a synthetic peptidomimetic. ACS Infect. Dis. 2021, 7, 2152-2163. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00147
Frederiksen, N; Hansen, P. R.; Zabicka, D.; Tomczak, M.; Urbas, M.; Domraceva, I.; Björkling, F.; Franzyk, H. Peptide/peptoid hybrid oligomers: The influence of hydrophobicity on antibacterial activity and cell selectivity. ChemMedChem 2020, 15, 2544-2561. https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202000526
Frederiksen, N; Hansen, P. R.; Björkling, F.; Franzyk, H. Peptide/peptoid hybrid oligomers: Influence of hydrophobicity and relative side-chain length on antibacterial activity and cell selectivity. Molecules 2019, 24, 4429 (18 pages). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24244429
Contact: Henrik Franzyk; henrik.franzyk@sund.ku.dk
A platform for development of peptide-based antimicrobials for treatment of infections with drug-resistant bacteria (Norwegian Research Council; Project leader: M. Bjørås; co-PI: H. Franzyk).
A worldwide health crisis is emerging as Gram-negative bacteria are becoming multidrug-resistant (MDR), leaving them to be treated with last-resort antibiotics only. As the pharmaceutical industry’s discovery and development of novel antibiotics often are based on existing compound classes, resistance often develops rapidly. This troublesome approach calls for academia to perform alternative research within future antibiotics.
Focus in the present project is on design and synthesis of compounds based on modification of newly identified hit peptides arising from the toxin part of bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems. The aim is to improve bacterial uptake, while minimizing toxicity toward mammalian cells. Also, incorporation of unnatural residues is used as a means to increase stability towards enzymatic degradation in vivo. Emphasis will be on identification and development of lead compounds against Gram-negative human pathogens (e.g., E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa).
PhD student: Emma Dyhr Jensen (Project title: Exploration of peptides derived from the bacterial toxin-antitoxin system as potential antibiotics)
Selected publications:
Sæbø, I. P.; Bjørås, M.; Franzyk, H.; Helgesen, E.; Booth, J. A. Optimisation of the hemolysis assay for the assessment of cytotoxicity. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 2914 (20 pages).
Contact: Henrik Franzyk; henrik.franzyk@sund.ku.dk
Exploration of efflux pump inhibitor conjugates via Trojan-horse and shuttle approaches (The Danish Research Council; DFF1 project granted to H. Franzyk).
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria cause infections only treatable with last-resort antibiotics. Overexpression of efflux pumps is a common trait of most MDR strains, and thus it is the aim to explore novel approaches for efficient bacterial delivery of efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs), capable of restoring sensitivity to antibiotics. This comprises design and synthesis of conjugates with uptake-promoting moieties, which is hypothesized to constitute a viable means to obtain such adjuvant antibiotics. A major aim is to reduce toxicity and off-target effects of the current most efficient EPIs that include drug candidates developed for treatment of other diseases. A successful project outcome is compounds that enable resensitization of MDR strains and repurposing of existing antibiotics with profound impact for patients and society.
PhD student: Mikkel Stampe Madsen
Contact: Henrik Franzyk; henrik.franzyk@sund.ku.dk
Springboard (Coordination and support action under the H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-2020 call; Coordinator: Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis,Riga; co-PI: Henrik Franzyk)
The main goal of the SPRINGBOARD project is to strengthen the research potential of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (LIOS) through establishing long-lasting and sustainable network collaborations with leading European research institutions (University of Antwerp, University of Copenhagen, University of Florence and University of Helsinki) in the area of advanced discovery of novel antibacterial drugs. This includes competence strengthening within biopharmaceuticals such as peptide-based antibiotics, and has so far involved design and solid-phase synthesis (SPS) of dimeric building blocks and on-resin modification of amino functionalities in a 12-mer peptidomimetic to obtain a series of novel peptidomimetics displaying an unprecendented content of unusual side chains. Another part comprises a series of end-group modified peptidomimetics.
Plotniece, A.; Soboleva, A.; Supuran, C. T.; Carta, F.; Björkling, F.; Franzyk, H.; Yli-Kauhaluoma, J.; Augustyns, K.; Cos, P.; De Vooght, L.; Govaerts, M.; Aizawa, J.; Tammela, P.; Žalubovskis, R. Selected strategies to fight pathogenic bacteria. J. Enz. Inhib. Med. Chem. 2023, 38, 21554816 (27 pages). https://doi.org/10.1080/14756366.2022.2155816
ENABLE (European Gram-negative Antibacterial Engine - an Innovative Medicines programme; EU-funded 2015-2021; co-PI: H. Franzyk)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat causing Europe to face soaring costs both in terms of lives and public health expenditure. Despite the strong need for new antimicrobials, very few new, effective antibiotics have been brought to the market in the last decades. The aim of the ENABLE project, within IMI’s New Drugs for Bad Bugs (ND4BB) programme, was to advance the development of potential antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli. The ultimate goal of the individual projects were to develop attractive antimicrobial candidates for testing in the clinic.
Selected publications:
Hansen, A. M.; Bonke, G.; Hogendorph, W. F. J.; Björkling, F.; Nielsen, J.; Nielsen, P. E.; Kongstad, K. T.; Zabicka, D.; Franzyk. H. Microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis of antisense acpP peptide nucleic acid-peptide conjugates active against colistin- and tigecycline-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Eur. J. Med. Chem. 2019, 168, 134-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.02.024
Hansen, A. M.; Seigan, G. B.; Larsen, C. J.; Yavari, N.; Nielsen, P. E.; Franzyk, H. Antibacterial peptide nucleic acid − antimicrobial peptide (PNA-AMP) conjugates: Antisense targeting of fatty acid biosynthesis. Bioconjugate Chem. 2016, 27, 863-867. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.6b00013
Contact: Henrik Franzyk; henrik.franzyk@sund.ku.dk
Collaborators
National:
Prof. Claus E. Moser, Dept. Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen University Hospital)
Prof. Anders Løbner-Olesen, Dept. Biology, University of Copenhagen
Prof. Peter E. Nielsen, Dept. Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen
Prof. Luca Guardabassi, Dept. Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Prof. Hanne Ingmer, Dept. Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Prof. Camilla Foged, Dept. Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen
Statens Serum Institut (several senior scientists)
International
Prof. Magnar Bjørås, Dept. Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Norway & Dept. Cancer Research & Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Prof. Fernando Rogério Pavan, Sao Paulo State University, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Assoc. Prof. Liam Good, Pathobiology & Population Science, Royal Veterinary College, London, U.K.
Assoc. Prof. Lorenzo Stella, Dept. Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Prof. Maria Luisa Mangoni, Dept. Biochemical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Dr. Dorota Zabicka, National Microbiology Institute, Warzaw, Poland
Director, O. Pugovics, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia
Dr. Ilona Domraceva, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia
Prof. Raivis Zalubovskis, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia
Prof. R. E. W. Hancock, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Prof. Claes Dahlgren, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Assoc. Prof. Ian Mellor, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, U.K.
Assoc. Prof. Izuddin Fahmy Abu, Institute of Medical Science Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Selected publications
- Published
Optimization of the Hemolysis Assay for the Assessment of Cytotoxicity
Sæbø, I. P., Bjørås, M., Franzyk, Henrik, Helgesen, E. & Booth, J. A., 2023, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24, 3, 20 p., 2914.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Inoculum effect of antimicrobial peptides
Loffredo, M. R., Savini, F., Bobone, S., Casciaro, B., Franzyk, Henrik, Mangoni, M. L. & Stella, L., 2021, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118, 21, 10 p., e2014364118.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Efficacy of natural antimicrobial peptides versus peptidomimetic analogues: a systematic review
Hellewell, L., Gilani, N. M., Stanton, C. J., Pelligand, L., Franzyk, Henrik, Guardabassi, Luca & Good, L., 2022, In: Future Medicinal Chemistry. 14, 24, p. 1899–1921Research output: Contribution to journal › Review › Research › peer-review
- Published
Targeting Toxins toward Tumors
Franzyk, Henrik & Christensen, Søren Brøgger, 2021, In: Molecules. 26, 5, 23 p., 1292.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
In vivo Anti-inflammatory Activity of Lipidated Peptidomimetics Pam-(Lys-βNspe)6-NH2 and Lau-(Lys-βNspe)6-NH2 Against PMA-Induced Acute Inflammation
Wu, B. C., Skovbakke, S. L., Masoudi, H., Hancock, R. E. W. & Franzyk, Henrik, 2020, In: Frontiers in Immunology. 11, 11 p., 2102.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Peptide/β-Peptoid Hybrids with Activity against Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci: Influence of Hydrophobicity and Structural Features on Antibacterial and Hemolytic Properties
Vestergaard, M., Skive, Bolette, Domraceva, I., Ingmer, Hanne & Franzyk, Henrik, 2021, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 22, 11, 5617.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Alternating Cationic-Hydrophobic Peptide/Peptoid Hybrids: Influence of Hydrophobicity on Antibacterial Activity and Cell Selectivity
Frederiksen, N., Hansen, Paul Robert, Zabicka, D., Tomczak, M., Urbas, M., Domraceva, I., Björkling, Fredrik & Franzyk, Henrik, 2020, In: ChemMedChem. 15, 24, p. 2544-2561Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Peptide/Peptoid Hybrid Oligomers: The Influence of Hydrophobicity and Relative Side-Chain Length on Antibacterial Activity and Cell Selectivity
Frederiksen, N., Hansen, Paul Robert, Björkling, Fredrik & Franzyk, Henrik, 4 Dec 2019, In: Molecules (Print Archive Edition). 24, 18 p., 4429.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
Repurposing Azithromycin and Rifampicin Against Gram-Negative Pathogens by Combination With Peptidomimetics
Baker, K. R., Jana, B., Hansen, A. M., Nielsen, Hanne Mørck, Franzyk, Henrik & Guardabassi, Luca, 2 Jul 2019, In: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 9Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
- Published
19F-substituted amino acids as an alternative to fluorophore labels: monitoring of degradation and cellular uptake of analogues of penetratin by 19F NMR
Christensen, M. V., Kongstad, Kenneth Thermann, Sondergaard, T. E., Stærk, Dan, Nielsen, Hanne Mørck, Franzyk, Henrik & Wimmer, R., 2019, In: Journal of Biomolecular N M R. 73, p. 167-182Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
ID: 1302063
Most downloads
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2039
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Erythrocyte membrane modifying agents and the inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum growth: structure-activity relationships for betulinic acid analogues
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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1608
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Prolonged Shelf Life in Fermented Milk Products Investigated by Bioassay-Guided Chemometrics
Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › Research
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1284
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Non-natural Amino Acid and Peptoid Building Blocks for Optimization of the Cell-Penetrating (R-X-R)n Motif
Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference abstract in journal › Research › peer-review
Published