The intrinsic property of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) to deliver therapeutic molecules (nucleic acids, drugs, imaging agents) to cells and tissues in a nontoxic manner has indicated that they may be potential components of future drugs and disease diagnostic agents. These versatile peptides are simple to synthesize, functionalize, and characterize yet are able to deliver covalently or noncovalently conjugated bioactive cargos (from small chemical drugs to large plasmid DNA) inside cells, primarily via endocytosis, in order to obtain high levels of gene expression, gene silencing, or tumor targeting. Typically, CPPs are often passive and nonselective yet must be functionalized or chemically modified to create effective delivery vectors that succeed in targeting specific cells or tissues. Furthermore, the design of clinically effective systemic delivery systems requires the same amount of attention to detail in both design of the delivered cargo and the cell-penetrating peptide used to deliver it.

Cell-Penetrating Peptides : Design, Synthesis, and Applications

Electrochemical reduction of an exemplary ATRP catalyst, C 11 Br 2 /Me 6 TREN, is shown to be an efficient process to mediate and execute an ATRP. The onset of polymerization occurs only through passage of a cathodic current achieved under a reductive potential to form Cu 1 Br 2 /Me 6 TREN, within the reaction medium. Unprecedented control over the polymerization kinetics can be attained through electrochemical methods by modulating the magnitude of the applied potential allowing polymerization rate enhancement or retardation. Additional polymerization control is gained through electrochemical “dials” allowing polymerization rate enhancements achieved by larger applied potentials and the ability to successfully switch a polymerization “on” and “off between dormant and active states by application of multistep intermittent potentials.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/332/6025/81.full.pdf

Electrochemically mediated atom transfer radical polymerization

Chitosan-based nanostructures: a delivery platform for ocular therapeutics.

The spectrum of ocular phenotypes caused by mutations in the BEST1 gene

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) such as transactivator of transcription (TAT) peptide have long been explored for promoting in vitro cell penetration and nuclear targeting of various cargos, but their positive charges cause strong nonspecific interactions, making them inapplicable for many in vivo applications. In this work, we used TAT to demonstrate a molecular modification approach for inhibiting nonspecific interactions of CPPs in the bloodstream while reactivating their functions in the targeted tissues or cells. The TAT lysine residues’ amines were amidized to succinyl amides (aTAT), completely inhibiting TAT’s nonspecific interactions in the blood compartment; once in the acidic tumor interstitium or internalized into cell endo/lysosomes, the succinyl amides in the aTAT were quickly hydrolyzed, fully restoring TAT’s functions. Thus, aTAT-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(e-caprolactone) micelles achieved long circulation in the blood compartment and efficiently accumulated and delive...

Acid-Active Cell-Penetrating Peptides for in Vivo Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery

Exogenous and cell surface glycosaminoglycans alter DNA delivery efficiency of arginine and lysine homopeptides in distinctly different ways.

The (R-X-R) motif-containing arginine-rich peptides are among the most effective cell-penetrating peptides. The replacement of amide linkages in the (R-X-R) motif by carbamate linkages as in (r-ahx-r)4 or (r-ahx-r-r-apr-r)2 increases the efficacy of such oligomers several-fold. Internalization of these oligomers in mammalian cell lines occurs by an energy-independent process. These oligomers show efficient delivery of biologically active plasmid DNA into CHO-K1 cells.

Highly efficient (R-X-R)-type carbamates as molecular transporters for cellular delivery.

Different roles of cell surface and exogenous glycosaminoglycans in controlling gene delivery by arginine-rich peptides with varied distribution of arginines.

Apicomplexans, including the pathogens Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, carry a nonphotosynthetic plastid of secondary endosymbiotic origin called the apicoplast. The P. falciparum apicoplast contains a 35 kb, circular DNA genome with limited coding capacity that lacks genes encoding proteins for DNA organization and replication. We report identification of a nuclear-encoded bacterial histone-like protein (PfHU) involved in DNA compaction in the apicoplast. PfHU is associated with apicoplast DNA and is expressed throughout the parasite's intra-erythocytic cycle. The protein binds DNA in a sequence nonspecific manner with a minimum binding site length of ∼27 bp and a Kd of ∼63 nM and displays a preference for supercoiled DNA. PfHU is capable of condensing Escherichia coli nucleoids in vivo indicating its role in DNA compaction. The unique 42 aa C-terminal extension of PfHU influences its DNA condensation properties. In contrast to bacterial HUs that bend DNA, PfHU promotes concatenation of linear DNA and inhibits DNA circularization. Atomic Force Microscopic study of PfHU–DNA complexes shows protein concentration-dependent DNA stiffening, intermolecular bundling and formation of DNA bridges followed by assembly of condensed DNA networks. Our results provide the first functional characterization of an apicomplexan HU protein and provide additional evidence for red algal ancestry of the apicoplast.

DNA organization by the apicoplast-targeted bacterial histone-like protein of Plasmodium falciparum.

Gene delivery to the retina: focus on non-viral approaches.

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