Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-26-2018
Abstract
We have previously evaluated and reported numerous classes of linear and cyclic peptides containing hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments for intracellular delivery of multiple molecular cargos. Herein, a combination of histidine and tryptophan amino acids were designed and evaluated for their efficiency in intracellular delivery of cell-impermeable phosphopeptides and the anti-HIV drug, emtricitabine. Two new decapeptides, with linear and cyclic natures, both containing alternate tryptophan and histidine residues, were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase chemistry. The peptides were characterized and purified by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. These peptides did not show significant toxicity up to 100 μM in ovarian cancer (SK-OV-3) and leukemia cancer (CCRF-CEM) cells. Furthermore, the cellular uptake of a fluorescence (F’)-labeled cell-impermeable phosphopeptide (F’-GpYEEI) was enhanced in the presence of linear (WH)5 and cyclic [WH]5 by 2- and 8-fold, respectively, compared to the uptake of the phosphopeptide alone. The cellular uptake was not significantly changed in the presence of endocytosis inhibitors. Furthermore, the intracellular uptake of the fluorescently-labeled anti-HIV drug, emtricitabine (F’-FTC), by linear (WH)5 and cyclic [WH]5 in SK-OV-3 cancer cell lines was found to be enhanced by 3.5- and 9-fold, respectively, compared to that of the drug alone. Fluorescent uptake experiments confirmed the localization of F’-GpYEEI-loaded cyclic [WH]5 intracellularly in the SK-OV-3 cancer cell line after 3 h of incubation. Thus, these data demonstrated that [WH]5 containing tryptophan and histidine enhanced the cellular uptake of F’-GpYEEI and emtricitabine.
Recommended Citation
Shirazi AN, Mozaffari S, Sherpa RT, Tiwari R, Parang K. Efficient intracellular delivery of cell-impermeable cargo molecules by peptides containing tryptophan and histidine. Molecules. 2018;23:1536. doi:10.3390/molecules23071536
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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, Cell Biology Commons, Organic Chemicals Commons, Other Cell and Developmental Biology 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, in 2018. DOI: 10.3390/molecules23071536