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Abstract
AbstractBiophysical studies have a very high impact on the understanding of internalization, molecular mechanisms, interactions, and localization of CPPs and CPP/cargo conjugates in live cells or in vivo. Biophysical studies are often first carried out in test-tube set-ups or in vitro, leading to the complicated in vivo systems. This review describes recent studies of CPP internalization, mechanisms, and localization. The multiple methods in these studies reveal different novel and important aspects and define the rules for CPP mechanisms, hopefully leading to their improved applicability to novel and safe therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Zorko
- University of Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Vrazov trg 2, 1000Ljubljana, Slovenia,
| | - Ülo Langel
- University of Stockholm, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Svante Arrhenius väg 16, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden, , and Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, Tartu, Estonia, 50411
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A real-time assay for cell-penetrating peptide-mediated delivery of molecular cargos. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254468. [PMID: 34473728 PMCID: PMC8412273 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are capable of transporting molecules to which they are tethered across cellular membranes. Unsurprisingly, CPPs have attracted attention for their potential drug delivery applications, but several technical hurdles remain to be overcome. Chief among them is the so-called 'endosomal escape problem,' i.e. the propensity of CPP-cargo molecules to be endocytosed but remain entrapped in endosomes rather than reaching the cytosol. Previously, a CPP fused to calmodulin that bound calmodulin binding site-containing cargos was shown to efficiently deliver cargos to the cytoplasm, effectively overcoming the endosomal escape problem. The CPP-adaptor, "TAT-CaM," evinces delivery at nM concentrations and more rapidly than we had previously been able to measure. To better understand the kinetics and mechanism of CPP-adaptor-mediated cargo delivery, a real-time cell penetrating assay was developed in which a flow chamber containing cultured cells was installed on the stage of a confocal microscope to allow for observation ab initio. Also examined in this study was an improved CPP-adaptor that utilizes naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) calmodulin in place of human and results in superior internalization, likely due to its lesser net negative charge. Adaptor-cargo complexes were delivered into the flow chamber and fluorescence intensity in the midpoint of baby hamster kidney cells was measured as a function of time. Delivery of 400 nM cargo was observed within seven minutes and fluorescence continued to increase linearly as a function of time. Cargo-only control experiments showed that the minimal uptake which occurred independently of the CPP-adaptor resulted in punctate localization consistent with endosomal entrapment. A distance analysis was performed for cell-penetration experiments in which CPP-adaptor-delivered cargo showing wider dispersions throughout cells as compared to an analogous covalently-bound CPP-cargo. Small molecule endocytosis inhibitors did not have significant effects upon delivery. The real-time assay is an improvement upon static endpoint assays and should be informative in a broad array of applications.
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Batta G, Kárpáti L, Henrique GF, Tóth G, Tarapcsák S, Kovacs T, Zakany F, Mándity IM, Nagy P. Statin-boosted cellular uptake and endosomal escape of penetratin due to reduced membrane dipole potential. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 178:3667-3681. [PMID: 33908640 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cell penetrating peptides are promising tools for delivery of cargo into cells, but factors limiting or facilitating their cellular uptake are largely unknown. We set out to study the effect of the biophysical properties of the cell membrane on the uptake of penetratin, a cell penetrating peptide. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Using labelling with pH-insensitive and pH-sensitive dyes, the kinetics of cellular uptake and endo-lysosomal escape of penetratin were studied by flow cytometry. KEY RESULTS We report that escape of penetratin from acidic endo-lysosomal compartments is retarded compared with its total cellular uptake. The membrane dipole potential, known to alter transmembrane transport of charged molecules, is shown to be negatively correlated with the concentration of penetratin in the cytoplasmic compartment. Treatment of cells with therapeutically relevant concentrations of atorvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol synthesis, significantly increased endosomal escape of penetratin in two different cell types. This effect of atorvastatin correlated with its ability to decrease the membrane dipole potential. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS These results highlight the importance of the dipole potential in regulating cellular uptake of cell penetrating peptides and suggest a clinically relevant way of boosting this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyula Batta
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Levente Kárpáti
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,TTK Lendület Artificial Transporter Research Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Center for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriela Fulaneto Henrique
- Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Tóth
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Tarapcsák
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Utah Center for Genetic Discovery, Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Tamas Kovacs
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Florina Zakany
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István M Mándity
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,TTK Lendület Artificial Transporter Research Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Center for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Peter Nagy
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Zakany F, Szabo M, Batta G, Kárpáti L, Mándity IM, Fülöp P, Varga Z, Panyi G, Nagy P, Kovacs T. An ω-3, but Not an ω-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Decreases Membrane Dipole Potential and Stimulates Endo-Lysosomal Escape of Penetratin. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:647300. [PMID: 33912562 PMCID: PMC8074792 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.647300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the largely positive intramembrane dipole potential (DP) may substantially influence the function of transmembrane proteins, its investigation is deeply hampered by the lack of measurement techniques suitable for high-throughput examination of living cells. Here, we describe a novel emission ratiometric flow cytometry method based on F66, a 3-hydroxiflavon derivative, and demonstrate that 6-ketocholestanol, cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol, saturated stearic acid (SA) and ω-6 γ-linolenic acid (GLA) increase, while ω-3 α-linolenic acid (ALA) decreases the DP. These changes do not correlate with alterations in cell viability or membrane fluidity. Pretreatment with ALA counteracts, while SA or GLA enhances cholesterol-induced DP elevations. Furthermore, ALA (but not SA or GLA) increases endo-lysosomal escape of penetratin, a cell-penetrating peptide. In summary, we have developed a novel method to measure DP in large quantities of individual living cells and propose ALA as a physiological DP lowering agent facilitating cytoplasmic entry of penetratin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florina Zakany
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Mate Szabo
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyula Batta
- Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Levente Kárpáti
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - István M. Mándity
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Lendület-Artificial Chloride Ion Transporter Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Center for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Fülöp
- Division of Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltan Varga
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gyorgy Panyi
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Peter Nagy
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tamas Kovacs
- Division of Biophysics, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Glossop HD, De Zoysa GH, Pilkington LI, Barker D, Sarojini V. Fluorinated O-phenylserine residues enhance the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of ultrashort cationic lipopeptides. J Fluor Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jfluchem.2020.109685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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