Isolation of multiple cell-binding ligands from different phage displayed-peptide libraries

Improving Pharmacokinetics of Peptides Using Phage Display

Phage display is a versatile method often used in the discovery of peptides that targets disease-related biomarkers. A major advantage of this technology is the ease and cost efficiency of affinity selection, also known as biopanning, to identify novel peptides. While it is relatively straightforward to identify peptides with optimal binding affinity, the pharmacokinetics of the selected peptides often prove to be suboptimal. Therefore, careful consideration of the experimental conditions, including the choice of using in vitro, in situ, or in vivo affinity selections, is essential in generating peptides with high affinity and specificity that also demonstrate desirable pharmacokinetics. Specifically, in vivo biopanning, or the combination of in vitro, in situ, and in vivo affinity selections, has been proven to influence the biodistribution and clearance of peptides and peptide-conjugated nanoparticles. Additionally, the marked difference in properties between peptides and nanoparticles must be considered. While peptide biodistribution depends primarily on physiochemical properties and can be modified by amino acid modifications, the size and shape of nanoparticles also affect both absorption and distribution. Thus, optimization of the desired pharmacokinetic properties should be an important consideration in biopanning strategies to enable the selection of peptides and peptide-conjugated nanoparticles that effectively target biomarkers in vivo.

Past, Present, and Future of Affinity-based Cell Separation Technologies

Progress in cell purification technology is critical to increase the availability of viable cells for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications. A variety of techniques are now available for cell separation, ranging from non-affinity methods such as density gradient centrifugation, dielectrophoresis, and filtration, to affinity methods such as chromatography, two-phase partitioning, and magnetic-/fluorescence-assisted cell sorting. For clinical and analytical procedures that require highly purified cells, the choice of cell purification method is crucial, since every method offers a different balance between yield, purity, and bioactivity of the cell product. For most applications, the requisite purity is only achievable through affinity methods, owing to the high target specificity that they grant. In this review, we discuss past and current methods for developing cell-targeting affinity ligands and their application in cell purification, along with the benefits and challenges associated with different purification formats. We further present new technologies, like stimuli-responsive ligands and parallelized microfluidic devices, towards improving the viability and throughput of cell products for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Our comparative analysis provides guidance in the multifarious landscape of cell separation techniques and highlights new technologies that are poised to play a key role in the future of cell purification in clinical settings and the biotech industry. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Technologies for cell purification have served science, medicine, and industrial biotechnology and biomanufacturing for decades. This review presents a comprehensive survey of this field by highlighting the scope and relevance of all known methods for cell isolation, old and new alike. The first section covers the main classes of target cells and compares traditional non-affinity and affinity-based purification techniques, focusing on established ligands and chromatographic formats. The second section presents an excursus of affinity-based pseudo-chromatographic and non-chromatographic technologies, especially focusing on magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Finally, the third section presents an overview of new technologies and emerging trends, highlighting how the progress in chemical, material, and microfluidic sciences has opened new exciting avenues towards high-throughput and high-purity cell isolation processes. This review is designed to guide scientists and engineers in their choice of suitable cell purification techniques for research or bioprocessing needs.

Selection of Lung Cancer-Specific Landscape Phage for Targeted Drug Delivery

Cancer cell-specific diagnostic or therapeutic tools are commonly believed to significantly increase the success rate of cancer diagnosis and targeted therapies. To extend the repertoire of available cancer cell-specific phage fusion proteins and study their efficacy as navigating moieties, we used two landscape phage display libraries f8/8 and f8/9 displaying an 8- or 9-mer random peptide fusion to identify a panel of novel peptide families that are specific to Calu-3 cells. Using a phage capture assay, we showed that two of the selected phage clones, ANGRPSMT and VNGRAEAP (phage and their recombinant proteins are named by the sequence of the fusion peptide), are selective for the Calu-3 cell line in comparison to phenotypically normal lung epithelial cells and distribute into unique subcellular fractions.

A synthetic peptide inhibits human ovarian cancer cell motility

The synthetic SV-peptide inhibits cancer cell migration through inhibition of FAK–Rho signaling and influences the small G protein family expression.

Identification and characterization of a suite of tumor targeting peptides for non-small cell lung cancer

Tumor targeting ligands are emerging components in cancer therapies. Widespread use of targeted therapies and molecular imaging is dependent on increasing the number of high affinity, tumor-specific ligands. Towards this goal, we biopanned three phage-displayed peptide libraries on a series of well-defined human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, isolating 11 novel peptides. The peptides show distinct binding profiles across 40 NSCLC cell lines and do not bind normal bronchial epithelial cell lines. Binding of specific peptides correlates with onco-genotypes and activation of particular pathways, such as EGFR signaling, suggesting the peptides may serve as surrogate markers. Multimerization of the peptides results in cell binding affinities between 0.0071–40 nM. The peptides home to tumors in vivo and bind to patient tumor samples. This is the first comprehensive biopanning for isolation of high affinity peptidic ligands for a single cancer type and expands the diversity of NSCLC targeting ligands.

Nanoparticles for oral delivery: targeted nanoparticles with peptidic ligands for oral protein delivery

As the field of biotechnology has advanced, oral protein delivery has also made significant progress. Oral delivery is the most common method of drug administration with high levels of patient acceptance. Despite the preference of oral delivery, administration of therapeutic proteins has been extremely difficult. Increasing the bioavailability of oral protein drugs to the therapeutically acceptable level is still a challenging goal. Poor membrane permeability, high molecular weight, and enzymatic degradation of protein drugs have remained unsolved issues. Among diverse strategies, nanotechnology has provided a glimpse of hope in oral delivery of protein drugs. Nanoparticles have advantages, such as small size, high surface area, and modification using functional groups for high capacity or selectivity. Nanoparticles with peptidic ligands are especially worthy of notice because they can be used for specific targeting in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This article reviews the transport mechanism of the GI tract, barriers to protein absorption, current status and limitations of nanotechnology for oral protein delivery system.

Potential of phage-displayed peptide library technology to identify functional targeting peptides

Combinatorial peptide library technology is a valuable resource for drug discovery and development. Several peptide drugs developed through phage-displayed peptide library technology are presently in clinical trials and the authors envision that phage-displayed peptide library technology will assist in the discovery and development of many more. This review attempts to compile and summarize recent literature on targeting peptides developed through peptide library technology, with special emphasis on novel peptides with targeting capacity evaluated in vivo.

From phage display to nanoparticle delivery: functionalizing liposomes with multivalent peptides improves targeting to a cancer biomarker

Phage display is commonly used to isolate peptides that bind to a desired cell type. While chemical synthesis of selected peptides often results in ligands with low affinity, a multivalent tetrameric presentation of the peptides dramatically improves affinity. One of the primary uses of these peptides is conjugation to nanoparticle-based therapeutics for specific delivery to target cell types. We set out to optimize the path from phage display peptide selection to peptide presentation on a nanoparticle surface for targeted delivery. Here, we examine the effects of peptide valency, density, and affinity on nanoparticle delivery and therapeutic efficacy, using the α(v)β(6)-specific H2009.1 peptide as a model phage-selected peptide and liposomal doxorubicin as a model therapeutic nanoparticle. Liposomes displaying the higher affinity multivalent H2009.1 tetrameric peptide demonstrate 5-10-fold higher drug delivery than liposomes displaying the lower affinity monomeric H2009.1 peptide, even when the same number of peptide subunits are displayed on the liposome. Importantly, a 6-fold greater toxicity is observed toward α(v)β(6)-expressing cells for liposomes displaying tetrameric verses monomeric H2009.1 peptides. Additionally, liposomal targeting and toxicity increase with increasing concentrations of H2009.1 tetrameric peptide on the liposome surface. Thus, both the multivalent peptide and the multivalent liposome scaffold work together to increase targeting to α(v)β(6)-expressing cells. This multilayered approach to developing high affinity targeted nanoparticles may improve the utility of moderate affinity peptides. As tetramerization is known to increase affinity for a variety of phage-selected peptides, it is anticipated that the tetrameric scaffold may act as a general method for taking peptides from phage display to nanoparticle display.

Targeted quantum dots fluorescence probes functionalized with aptamer and peptide for transferrin receptor on tumor cells

Quantum dots (QDs) fluorescent probes based on oligonucleotide aptamers and peptides with specific molecular recognition have attracted much attention. In this paper, CdSe/ZnS QDs probes for targeted delivery to mouse and human cells using aptamer GS24 and peptide T7 specific to mouse/human transferrin receptors were developed. Capillary electrophoresis analyses indicated that the optimal molar ratios of QDs to aptamer or peptide were 1:5. Fluorescence and confocal microscope imaging revealed QD-GS24 and QD-T7 probes were able to specifically recognize B16 cells and HeLa cells respectively. Quantitative flow cytometry analysis indicated the transportation of QD-GS24 or QD-T7 into cells could be promoted by corresponding free transferrin. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the uptake of probes in cells and the effective intracellular delivery. MTT assay suggested the cytotoxicity of probes was related to the surface ligand, and aptamer GS24 (or peptide T7) could reduce the cytotoxicity of probes to a certain degree. The study has great significance for preparing QDs fluorescent probes using non-antibody target molecules.

Peptides in cancer nanomedicine: drug carriers, targeting ligands and protease substrates

Peptides are attracting increasing attention as therapeutic agents, as the technologies for peptide development and manufacture continue to mature. Concurrently, with booming research in nanotechnology for biomedical applications, peptides have been studied as an important class of components in nanomedicine, and they have been used either alone or in combination with nanomaterials of every reported composition. Peptides possess many advantages, such as smallness, ease of synthesis and modification, and good biocompatibility. Their functions in cancer nanomedicine, discussed in this review, include serving as drug carriers, as targeting ligands, and as protease-responsive substrates for drug delivery.

In vitro screening of ovarian tumor specific peptides from a phage display peptide library

To develop more biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy of ovarian cancer, a 12-mer phage display library was used to isolate peptides that bound specifically to the human ovarian tumor cell line SK-OV-3. After five rounds of in vitro screening, the recovery rate of phages showed a 69-fold increase over the first round of washings and a group of phage clones capable of binding to SK-OV-3 cells were obtained. A phage clone named Z1 with high affinity and specificity to SK-OV-3 cells was identified in vitro. More importantly, the synthetic biotin-labeled peptide, ZP1 (=SVSVGMKPSPRP), which corresponded to the sequence of the inserted fragment of Z1, demonstrated a high specificity to SK-OV-3 cells especially when compared to other cell lines (A2780 and 3T3). ZP1 might therefore be a biomarker for targeting drug delivery in ovarian cancer therapy.

Phage-displayed peptides selected for binding to Campylobacter jejuni are antimicrobial

In developed countries, Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of zoonotic bacterial gastroenteritis in humans with chicken meat implicated as a source of infection. Campylobacter jejuni colonises the lower gastrointestinal tract of poultry and during processing is spread from the gastrointestinal tract onto the surface of dressed carcasses. Controlling or eliminating C.jejuni on-farm is considered to be one of the best strategies for reducing human infection. Molecules on the cell surface of C.jejuni interact with the host to facilitate its colonisation and persistence in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry. We used a subtractive phage-display protocol to affinity select for peptides binding to the cell surface of a poultry isolate of C.jejuni with the aim of finding peptides that could be used to control this microorganism in chickens. In total, 27 phage peptides, representing 11 unique clones, were found to inhibit the growth of C.jejuni by up to 99.9% in vitro. One clone was bactericidal, reducing the viability of C.jejuni by 87% in vitro. The phage peptides were highly specific. They completely inhibited the growth of two of the four poultry isolates of C.jejuni tested with no activity detected towards other Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Peptidic tumor targeting agents: the road from phage display peptide selections to clinical applications

Cancer has become the number one cause of death amongst Americans, killing approximately 1,600 people per day. Novel methods for early detection and the development of effective treatments are an eminent priority in medicine. For this reason, isolation of tumor-specific ligands is a growing area of research. Tumor-specific binding agents can be used to probe the tumor cell surface phenotype and to customize treatment accordingly by conjugating the appropriate cell-targeting ligand to an anticancer drug. This refines the molecular diagnosis of the tumor and creates guided drugs that can target the tumor while sparing healthy tissues. Additionally, these targeting agents can be used as in vivo imaging agents that allow for earlier detection of tumors and micrometastasis. Phage display is a powerful technique for the isolation of peptides that bind to a particular target with high affinity and specificity. The biopanning of intact cancer cells or tumors in animals can be used as the bait to isolate peptides that bind to cancer-specific cell surface biomarkers. Over the past 10 years, unbiased biopanning of phage-displayed peptide libraries has generated a suite of cancer targeting peptidic ligands. This review discusses the recent advances in the isolation of cancer-targeting peptides by unbiased biopanning methods and highlights the use of the isolated peptides in clinical applications.

Synthesis and characterization of a high-affinity {alpha}v{beta}6-specific ligand for in vitro and in vivo applications

The α(v)β(6) integrin is an attractive therapeutic target for several cancers due to its role in metastasis and its negligible expression in normal tissues. We previously identified a peptide from a phage-displayed peptide library that binds specifically to α(v)β(6). The tetrameric version of the peptide has higher affinity for its cellular targets than the corresponding monomers. However, the inefficient synthesis limits its clinical potential. We report here a convergent synthesis producing the tetrameric peptide in high yield and purity. The ease of the synthesis allows for rapid optimization of the peptide. We have optimized this α(v)β(6) integrin-binding peptide, determining the minimal binding domain and valency. Importantly, the half-maximal binding affinity of the optimal peptide for its target cell is in the 40 to 60 pmol/L range, rivaling the affinity of commonly used antibody-targeting reagents. This peptide mediates cell-specific uptake, is functional in diagnostic formats, is stable in sera, and can home to a tumor in an animal. We anticipate that this high-affinity ligand for α(v)β(6) will find clinical use as a diagnostic and therapeutic reagent.

Biopanning of phage displayed peptide libraries for the isolation of cell-specific ligands

One limitation in the development of biosensors for the early detection of disease is the availability of high specificity and affinity ligands for biomarkers that are indicative of a pathogenic process. Within the past 10 years, biopanning of phage displayed peptide libraries on intact cells has proven to be a successful route to the identification of cell-specific ligands. The peptides selected from these combinatorial libraries are often able to distinguish between diseased cells and their normal counterparts as well as cells in different activation states. These ligands are small and chemical methodologies are available for regiospecific derivatization. As such, they can be incorporated into a variety of different diagnostic and therapeutic platforms. Here we describe the methods utilized in the selection of peptides from phage displayed libraries by biopanning. In addition, we provide methods for the synthesis of the selected peptides as both monomers and tetramers. Downstream uses for the peptides are illustrated.

Advances in molecular imaging of pancreatic beta cells

The development of non-invasive imaging methods for early diagnosis of beta cell associated metabolic diseases, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D and T2D), has recently drawn interest from the molecular imaging community and clinical investigators. Due to the challenges imposed by the location of the pancreas, the sparsely dispersed beta cell population within the pancreas, and the poor understanding of the pathogenesis of the diseases, clinical diagnosis of beta cell abnormalities is still limited. Current diagnostic methods are invasive, often inaccurate, and usually performed post-onset of the disease. Advances in imaging techniques for probing beta cell mass and function are needed to address this critical health care problem. A variety of imaging techniques have been tested for the assessment of pancreatic beta cell islets. Here we discuss current advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bioluminescence imaging (BLI), and nuclear imaging for the study of beta cell diseases. Spurred by early successes in nuclear imaging techniques for beta cells, especially positron emission tomography (PET), the need for beta cell specific ligands has expanded. Progress for obtaining such ligands is presented. We report our preliminary efforts of developing such a peptidic ligand for PET imaging of pancreatic beta cells.

Quantum dots – Nano-sized probes for the exploration of cellular and intracellular targeting

Nanoparticles emerged as promising tool in drug targeting, since, after appropriate modification, they are able to deliver their payload to specific sites, like tissues, cells, or even certain cellular organelles. In this context, the delivery of nanoparticles from the circulation into the target cells represents a crucial step. Here, model drug delivery systems such as quantum dots are ideal candidates to elucidate this process in more detail, since they provide outstanding features like a small and uniform size, unique optical properties for most sensitive detection and modifiable surfaces. Recent progress in the surface chemistry of quantum dots expanded their use in biological applications, reduced their cytotoxicity and rendered quantum dots a powerful tool for the investigation of distinct cellular processes, like uptake, receptor trafficking and intracellular delivery. In this review, we will not only describe the ideal attributes of QDs for biological applications and imaging but also their distinct specific and non-specific pathways into the cells as well as their intracellular fate.

Mechanistic studies of a peptidic GRP78 ligand for cancer cell-specific drug delivery

Major obstacles in the development of new therapeutic anticancer drugs are the low bioavailability of hydrophilic substances and the nonspecific toxicity toward healthy tissues. As such, cell-targeting oligopeptides have emerged as attractive drug delivery vehicles for a variety of different types of cargo. The recently identified peptide Pep42 binds to the glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), which is overexpressed on the cell surface of human cancer cells and internalizes into these cells. Herein, we demonstrate how Pep42 can be utilized as a carrier for different types of cytotoxic drugs to specifically target human cancer cell lines in vitro in a strictly GRP78-dependent manner. Furthermore, the mechanism of internalization of Pep42 was elucidated and found to involve clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Pep42 subsequently colocalizes within the lysosomal compartment. Importantly, we also provide evidence that Pep42-conjugated quantum dots have the ability to selectively enrich in tumor tissue in a xenograft mouse model. Our results suggest that the highly specific GRP78-Pep42 interaction can be utilized for the generation of Pep42-drug conjugates as a powerful anticancer drug delivery system that could substantially enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy by increasing the drug-tumor specificity, thus minimizing the adverse side effects associated with conventional cancer therapeutics.

Selection and initial characterization of novel peptide ligands that bind specifically to human blood outgrowth endothelial cells

Using phage display technology, we have isolated 12-mer peptide ligands that bind to human blood outgrowth endothelial cells (HBOEC). To avoid non-specific binding we apply negative-positive selection approach by pre-incubating the library with non-HBOEC. The selected phage clones bind to their target cell population with high recovery. Moreover, the isolated clones display outstanding cell specificity as no significant binding is observed on a panel of other cell types. We anticipate the findings from this work to be exploited in the development of future cell-based therapeutic revascularization approaches to ischemic disease and endothelial injury or in combination with biomedical devices.