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Vähätupa M, Salonen N, Uusitalo-Järvinen H, Järvinen TAH. Selective Targeting and Tissue Penetration to the Retina by a Systemically Administered Vascular Homing Peptide in Oxygen Induced Retinopathy (OIR). Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13111932. [PMID: 34834347 PMCID: PMC8618640 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13111932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological angiogenesis is the hallmark of ischemic retinal diseases among them retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) is a pure hypoxia-driven angiogenesis model and a widely used model for ischemic retinopathies. We explored whether the vascular homing peptide CAR (CARSKNKDC) which recognizes angiogenic blood vessels can be used to target the retina in OIR. We were able to demonstrate that the systemically administered CAR vascular homing peptide homed selectively to the preretinal neovessels in OIR. As a cell and tissue-penetrating peptide, CAR also penetrated into the retina. Hyperoxia used to induce OIR in the retina also causes bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the lungs. We showed that the CAR peptide is not targeted to the lungs in normal mice but is targeted to the lungs after hyperoxia-/hypoxia-treatment of the animals. The site-specific delivery of the CAR peptide to the pathologic retinal vasculature and the penetration of the retinal tissue may offer new opportunities for treating retinopathies more selectively and with less side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vähätupa
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland; (M.V.); (N.S.); (H.U.-J.)
| | - Niklas Salonen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland; (M.V.); (N.S.); (H.U.-J.)
| | - Hannele Uusitalo-Järvinen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland; (M.V.); (N.S.); (H.U.-J.)
- Eye Centre & Department of Orthopedics & Traumatology, Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
| | - Tero A. H. Järvinen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, 33520 Tampere, Finland; (M.V.); (N.S.); (H.U.-J.)
- Eye Centre & Department of Orthopedics & Traumatology, Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
- Correspondence:
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Iqbal A, May U, Prince SN, Järvinen TAH, Heydemann A. Systemically Administered Homing Peptide Targets Dystrophic Lesions and Delivers Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGFβ) Inhibitor to Attenuate Murine Muscular Dystrophy Pathology. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:1506. [PMID: 34575582 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13091506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Muscular dystrophy is a progressively worsening and lethal disease, where accumulation of functionality-impairing fibrosis plays a key pathogenic role. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) is a central signaling molecule in the development of fibrosis in muscular dystrophic humans and mice. Inhibition of TGFβ1 has proven beneficial in mouse models of muscular dystrophy, but the global strategies of TGFβ1 inhibition produce significant detrimental side effects. Here, we investigated whether murine muscular dystrophy lesion-specific inhibition of TGFβ1 signaling by the targeted delivery of therapeutic decorin (a natural TGFβ inhibitor) by a vascular homing peptide CAR (CARSKNKDC) would reduce skeletal muscle fibrosis and pathology and increase functional characteristics of skeletal muscle. We demonstrate that CAR peptide homes to dystrophic lesions with specificity in two muscular dystrophy models. Recombinant fusion protein consisting of CAR peptide and decorin homes selectively to sites of skeletal muscle damage in mdxDBA2/J and gamma-sarcoglycan deficient DBA2/J mice. This targeted delivery reduced TGFβ1 signaling as demonstrated by reduced nuclear pSMAD staining. Three weeks of targeted decorin treatment decreased both membrane permeability and fibrosis and improved skeletal muscle function in comparison to control treatments in the mdxD2 mice. These results show that selective delivery of decorin to the sites of skeletal muscle damage attenuates the progression of murine muscular dystrophy.
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Pemmari T, Ivanova L, May U, Lingasamy P, Tobi A, Pasternack A, Prince S, Ritvos O, Makkapati S, Teesalu T, Cairo MS, Järvinen TAH, Liao Y. Exposed CendR Domain in Homing Peptide Yields Skin-Targeted Therapeutic in Epidermolysis Bullosa. Mol Ther 2020; 28:1833-1845. [PMID: 32497513 PMCID: PMC7403337 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Systemic skin-selective therapeutics would be a major advancement in the treatment of diseases affecting the entire skin, such as recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), which is caused by mutations in the COL7A1 gene and manifests in transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-driven fibrosis and malignant transformation. Homing peptides containing a C-terminal R/KXXR/K motif (C-end rule [CendR] sequence) activate an extravasation and tissue penetration pathway for tumor-specific drug delivery. We have previously described a homing peptide CRKDKC (CRK) that contains a cryptic CendR motif and homes to angiogenic blood vessels in wounds and tumors, but it cannot penetrate cells or tissues. In this study, we demonstrate that removal of the cysteine from CRK to expose the CendR sequence confers the peptide novel ability to home to normal skin. Fusion of the truncated CRK (tCRK) peptide to the C terminus of an extracellular matrix protein decorin (DCN), a natural TGF-β inhibitor, resulted in a skin-homing therapeutic molecule (DCN-tCRK). Systemic DCN-tCRK administration in RDEB mice led to inhibition of TGF-β signaling in the skin and significant improvement in the survival of RDEB mice. These results suggest that DCN-tCRK has the potential to be utilized as a novel therapeutic compound for the treatment of dermatological diseases such as RDEB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toini Pemmari
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
| | - Larisa Ivanova
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Ulrike May
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
| | - Prakash Lingasamy
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Allan Tobi
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Anja Pasternack
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Stuart Prince
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
| | - Olli Ritvos
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Shreya Makkapati
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Tambet Teesalu
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Center for Nanomedicine, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Mitchell S Cairo
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; Department of Pathology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA; Deparmtent of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Tero A H Järvinen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland.
| | - Yanling Liao
- Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
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Järvinen TA, Pemmari T. Systemically Administered, Target-Specific, Multi-Functional Therapeutic Recombinant Proteins in Regenerative Medicine. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2020; 10:E226. [PMID: 32013041 PMCID: PMC7075297 DOI: 10.3390/nano10020226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Growth factors, chemokines and cytokines guide tissue regeneration after injuries. However, their applications as recombinant proteins are almost non-existent due to the difficulty of maintaining their bioactivity in the protease-rich milieu of injured tissues in humans. Safety concerns have ruled out their systemic administration. The vascular system provides a natural platform for circumvent the limitations of the local delivery of protein-based therapeutics. Tissue selectivity in drug accumulation can be obtained as organ-specific molecular signatures exist in the blood vessels in each tissue, essentially forming a postal code system ("vascular zip codes") within the vasculature. These target-specific "vascular zip codes" can be exploited in regenerative medicine as the angiogenic blood vessels in the regenerating tissues have a unique molecular signature. The identification of vascular homing peptides capable of finding these unique "vascular zip codes" after their systemic administration provides an appealing opportunity for the target-specific delivery of therapeutics to tissue injuries. Therapeutic proteins can be "packaged" together with homing peptides by expressing them as multi-functional recombinant proteins. These multi-functional recombinant proteins provide an example how molecular engineering gives to a compound an ability to home to regenerating tissue and enhance its therapeutic potential. Regenerative medicine has been dominated by the locally applied therapeutic approaches despite these therapies are not moving to clinical medicine with success. There might be a time to change the paradigm towards systemically administered, target organ-specific therapeutic molecules in future drug discovery and development for regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tero A.H. Järvinen
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Technology, Tampere University, FI-33014 Tampere, Finland & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland
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