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Porosk L, Gaidutšik I, Langel Ü. Approaches for the discovery of new cell-penetrating peptides. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 16:553-565. [PMID: 33874824 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2021.1851187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: The capability of cell-penetrating peptides (CPP), also known as protein transduction domains (PTD), to enter into cells possibly with an attached cargo, makes their application as delivery vectors or as direct therapeutics compelling. They are generally biocompatible, nontoxic, and easy to synthesize and modify. Three decades after the discovery of the first CPPs, ~2,000 CPP sequences have been identified, and many more predicted. Nevertheless, the field has a strong commitment to authenticate new, more efficient, and specific CPPs.Areas covered: Although a scattering of CPPs have been found by chance, various systematic approaches have been developed and refined over the years to directly aid the identification and depiction of new peptide-based delivery vectors or therapeutics. Here, the authors give an overview of CPPs, and review various approaches of discovering new ones. An emphasis is placed on in silico methods, as these have advanced rapidly in recent years.Expert opinion: Although there are many known CPPs, there is a need to find more efficient and specific CPPs. Several approaches are used to identify such sequences. The success of these approaches depends on the advancement of others and the successful prediction of CPP sequences relies on experimental data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ly Porosk
- Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ilja Gaidutšik
- Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ülo Langel
- Department Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Deprey K, Becker L, Kritzer J, Plückthun A. Trapped! A Critical Evaluation of Methods for Measuring Total Cellular Uptake versus Cytosolic Localization. Bioconjug Chem 2019; 30:1006-1027. [PMID: 30882208 PMCID: PMC6527423 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Biomolecules have many properties that make them promising for intracellular therapeutic applications, but delivery remains a key challenge because large biomolecules cannot easily enter the cytosol. Furthermore, quantification of total intracellular versus cytosolic concentrations remains demanding, and the determination of delivery efficiency is thus not straightforward. In this review, we discuss strategies for delivering biomolecules into the cytosol and briefly summarize the mechanisms of uptake for these systems. We then describe commonly used methods to measure total cellular uptake and, more selectively, cytosolic localization, and discuss the major advantages and drawbacks of each method. We critically evaluate methods of measuring "cell penetration" that do not adequately distinguish total cellular uptake and cytosolic localization, which often lead to inaccurate interpretations of a molecule's cytosolic localization. Finally, we summarize the properties and components of each method, including the main caveats of each, to allow for informed decisions about method selection for specific applications. When applied correctly and interpreted carefully, methods for quantifying cytosolic localization offer valuable insight into the bioactivity of biomolecules and potentially the prospects for their eventual development into therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Deprey
- Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, 62 Talbot Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Lukas Becker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joshua Kritzer
- Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, 62 Talbot Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Andreas Plückthun
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Peraro L, Kritzer JA. Emerging Methods and Design Principles for Cell-Penetrant Peptides. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018; 57:11868-11881. [PMID: 29740917 PMCID: PMC7184558 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201801361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Biomolecules such as antibodies, proteins, and peptides are important tools for chemical biology and leads for drug development. They have been used to inhibit a variety of extracellular proteins, but accessing intracellular proteins has been much more challenging. In this review, we discuss diverse chemical approaches that have yielded cell-penetrant peptides and identify three distinct strategies: masking backbone amides, guanidinium group patterning, and amphipathic patterning. We summarize a growing number of large data sets, which are starting to reveal more specific design guidelines for each strategy. We also discuss advantages and disadvantages of current methods for quantifying cell penetration. Finally, we provide an overview of best-odds approaches for applying these new methods and design principles to optimize cytosolic penetration for a given bioactive peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Peraro
- Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA
| | - Joshua A Kritzer
- Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA
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Peraro L, Kritzer JA. Neue Methoden und Designprinzipien für zellgängige Peptide. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201801361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leila Peraro
- Department of Chemistry Tufts University Medford Massachusetts 02155 USA
| | - Joshua A. Kritzer
- Department of Chemistry Tufts University Medford Massachusetts 02155 USA
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Zhang J, Zhang T, Guan T, Yu H, Li T. In vitro and in silico assessment of the structure-dependent binding of bisphenol analogues to glucocorticoid receptor. Anal Bioanal Chem 2017; 409:2239-2246. [PMID: 28078411 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-016-0168-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 12/04/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Widespread use of bisphenol A (BPA) and other bisphenol analogues has attracted increasing attention for their potential adverse effects. As environmental endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), bisphenols (BPs) may activate a variety of nuclear receptors, including glucocorticoid receptor (GR). In this work, the binding of 11 BPs to GR was investigated by fluorescence polarization (FP) assay in combination with molecular dynamics simulations. The human glucocorticoid receptor was prepared as a soluble recombinant protein. A fluorescein-labeled dexamethasone derivative (Dex-fl) was employed as tracer. Competitive displacement of Dex-fl from GR by BPs showed that the binding affinities of bisphenol analogues were largely dependent on their characteristic functional groups. In order to further understand the relationship between BPs structures and their GR-mediated activities, molecular docking was utilized to explore the binding modes at the atomic level. The results confirmed that structural variations of bisphenol analogues contributed to different interactions of BPs with GR, potentially causing distinct toxic effects. Comparison of the calculated binding energies vs. experimental binding affinities yielded a good correlation (R 2 = 0.8266), which might be helpful for the design of environmentally benign materials with reduced toxicities. In addition, the established FP assay based on GR exhibited the potential to offer an alternative to traditional methods for the detection of bisphenols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin Agricultural University, No. 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun, Jilin, 130118, China
| | - Tiehua Zhang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, China
| | - Tianzhu Guan
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, China
| | - Hansong Yu
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin Agricultural University, No. 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun, Jilin, 130118, China.
| | - Tiezhu Li
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin Agricultural University, No. 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun, Jilin, 130118, China.
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LaRochelle JR, Cobb GB, Steinauer A, Rhoades E, Schepartz A. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy reveals highly efficient cytosolic delivery of certain penta-arg proteins and stapled peptides. J Am Chem Soc 2015; 137:2536-2541. [PMID: 25679876 PMCID: PMC4700819 DOI: 10.1021/ja510391n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
We used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to accurately and precisely determine the relative efficiencies with which three families of "cell-penetrating peptides" traffic to the cytosol of mammalian cells. We find that certain molecules containing a "penta-arg" motif reach the cytosol, intact, with efficiencies greater than 50%. This value is at least 10-fold higher than that observed for the widely studied cationic sequence derived from HIV Tat or polyarginine Arg8, and equals that of hydrocarbon-stapled peptides that are active in cells and animals. Moreover, we show that the efficiency with which stapled peptides reach the cytosol, as determined by FCS, correlates directly with their efficacy in cell-based assays. We expect that these findings and the associated technology will aid the design of peptides, proteins, and peptide mimetics that predictably and efficiently reach the interior of mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R. LaRochelle
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
| | - Garrett B. Cobb
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
| | - Angela Steinauer
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
| | - Elizabeth Rhoades
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
| | - Alanna Schepartz
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, United States
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Lee MM, French JM, Disney MD. Influencing uptake and localization of aminoglycoside-functionalized peptoids. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2011; 7:2441-51. [PMID: 21611644 DOI: 10.1039/c1mb05074e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The development of small-molecule therapeutics that target RNA remains a promising field but one hampered with considerable challenges that include programming high affinity, specificity, cell permeability, and favorable pharmacokinetic profiles. Previously, we employed the use of peptoids to modularly display RNA-binding modules to enhance binding affinity and specificity by altering valency and the distance between ligand modules. Herein, factors that affect uptake, localization, and toxicity of peptoids that display a kanamycin derivative into a variety of mammalian cells lines are reported. A series of peptoids that display various spacing modules was synthesized to determine if the spacing module affects permeability and localization. The spacing module does affect cellular permeability into C2C12, A549, HeLa, and MCF7 cell lines but not into Jurkat cells. Moreover, the modularly assembled peptoids carrying the kanamycin cargo localize in the cytoplasm and perinuclear region of C2C12 and A549 cells and throughout HeLa cells, including the nucleus. These studies could contribute to the development of general strategies to afford cell permeable, modularly assembled small molecules that specifically target RNAs present in a variety of cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa M Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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Abstract
Peptidomimetic oligomers and foldamers have received considerable attention for over a decade, with beta-peptides and the so-called peptoids (N-alkylglycine oligomers) representing prominent examples of such architectures. Lately, hybrid or mixed backbones consisting of both alpha- and beta-amino acids (alpha/beta-peptides) have been investigated in some detail as well. The present Minireview is a survey of the literature concerning hybrid structures of alpha-amino acids and peptoids, including beta-peptoids (N-alkyl-beta-alanine oligomers), and is intended to give an overview of this area of research within the field of peptidomimetic science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian A Olsen
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, Copenhagen, 2100 Denmark.
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Targeting protein–protein interactions for therapeutic intervention: a challenge for the future. Future Med Chem 2009; 1:65-93. [DOI: 10.4155/fmc.09.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Over the last two decades, an increasing research effort in academia and industry has focused on the modulation (both inhibition and stabilization) of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) in order to develop novel therapeutic approaches and target-selective agents in drug discovery. Discussion: The diversity and complexity of highly dynamic systems such as PPIs present many challenges for the identification of drug-like molecules with the ability to modulate the PPI with the necessary selectivity and potency. In this review, a number of these strategies will be presented along with a critical overview of the challenges and potential solutions relating to the exploitation of PPIs as molecular targets. Conclusions: Both traditional drug discovery approaches and some more recently developed innovative strategies have already provided valuable tools for the discovery of PPI modulators, and a number of successful examples have highlighted the potential of targeting PPIs for therapeutic intervention, especially in the oncology area.
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Tan NC, Yu P, Kwon YU, Kodadek T. High-throughput evaluation of relative cell permeability between peptoids and peptides. Bioorg Med Chem 2008; 16:5853-61. [PMID: 18490170 PMCID: PMC2490712 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2008.04.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2008] [Revised: 04/29/2008] [Accepted: 04/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Peptides are limited in their use as drugs due to low cell permeability and vulnerability to proteases. In contrast, peptoids are immune to enzymatic degradation and some peptoids have been shown to be relatively cell permeable. In order to facilitate future design of peptoid libraries for screening experiments, it would be useful to have a high-throughput method to estimate the cell permeability of peptoids containing different residues. In this paper, we report the strengths and limitations of a high-throughput cell-based permeability assay that registers the relative ability of steroid-conjugated peptides and peptoids to enter a cell. A comparative investigation of the physicochemical properties and side chain composition of peptoids and peptides is described to explain the observed higher cell permeability of peptoids over peptides. These data suggest that the conversion of the monomeric residues in peptides to an N-alkylglycine moiety in peptoids reduced the hydrogen-bonding potential of the molecules and is the main contributor to the observed permeability improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas C. Tan
- Division of Translational Research, Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Peng Yu
- Division of Translational Research, Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Yong-Uk Kwon
- Division of Translational Research, Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
| | - Thomas Kodadek
- Division of Translational Research, Departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA
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