Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-29-2018
Abstract
Linear (HR)n and cyclic [HR]n peptides (n = 4,5) containing alternate arginine and histidine residues were synthesized. The peptides showed 0–15% cytotoxicity at 5–100 μM in human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3) cells while they exhibited 0–12% toxicity in human leukemia cancer cell line (CCRF-CEM). Among all peptides, cyclic [HR]4 peptide was able to improve the delivery of a cell impermeable fluorescence-labeled phosphopeptide by two-fold. Fatty acids of different alkyl chain length were attached at the N-terminal of the linear peptide (HR)4 to improve the molecular transporter property. Addition of fatty acyl chains was expected to help with the permeation of the peptides through the cell membrane. Thus, we synthesized seven fatty acyl derivatives of the linear (HR)4 peptide. The peptides were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid phase peptide chemistry, purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) spectrometry. The fatty acyl peptides containing C8, C12, C14, and C18 alkyl chain did not show cytotoxicity on SK-OV-3 or CCRF-CEM cell lines up to 50 μM concentration; however, at higher concentration (100 μM), they showed mild cytotoxicity. For example, C16-(HR)4 was also found to reduce the proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells by 11% at 50 μM and C20-(HR)4 showed mild toxicity at 10 μM, reducing the proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells by 21%. Increase in the length of alkyl chain showed cytotoxicity to the cell lines. C20-(HR)4 peptide showed better efficiency in translocation of F0-GpYEEI to SK-OV-3 than the phosphopeptide alone. Further investigation of C20-(HR)4 peptide efficacy showed that the peptide could deliver doxorubicin and epirubicin into SK-OV-3 and also improved the drug antiproliferative ability. These studies provided insights into understanding the structural requirements for optimal cellular delivery of the fatty acyl-(HR)4 peptide conjugates.
Recommended Citation
El-Sayed NS, Miyake T, Shirzai AN, et al. Design, synthesis, and evaluation of homochiral peptides containing arginine and histidine as molecular transporters. Molecules. 2018;23(7):1590. doi: 10.3390/molecules23071590
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The authors
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins Commons, Cancer Biology Commons, Medical Biochemistry Commons, Organic Chemicals Commons, Other Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Other Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons, Pharmaceutical Preparations Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in Molecules, volume 23, issue 7, in 2018. DOI: 10.3390/molecules23071590