Linear short histidine and cysteine modified arginine peptides constitute a potential class of DNA delivery agents

Amino Acid-Coated Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Delivery of Genetic Material in Prostate Cancer Cell

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are currently under progressive development as a tool for non-viral biomolecule delivery. Biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids can be encapsulated in MOFs for therapeutic purposes. The favorable physicochemical properties of MOFs make them an attractive choice for delivering a wide range of biomolecules including nucleic acids. Herein, a green fluorescence protein (GFP)-expressing plasmid DNA (pDNA) is used as a representative of a biomolecule to encapsulate within a Zn-based metal-organic framework (MOF) called a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF). The synthesized biocomposites are coated with positively charged amino acids (AA) to understand the effect of surface functionalization on the delivery of pDNA to prostate cancer (PC-3) cells. FTIR and zeta potential confirm the successful preparation of positively charged amino acid-functionalized derivatives of pDNA@ZIF (i.e., pDNA@ZIF_AA). Moreover, XRD and SEM data show that the functionalized derivates retain the pristine crystallinity and morphology of pDNA@ZIF. The coated biocomposites provide enhanced uptake of genetic material by PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. The AA-modulated fine-tuning of the surface charge of biocomposites results in better interaction with the cell membrane and enhances cellular uptake. These results suggest that pDNA@ZIF_AA can be a promising alternative tool for non-viral gene delivery.

Surface-Engineered Mucus Penetrating Nucleic Acid Delivery Systems with Cell Penetrating Peptides for the Lungs

Nucleic acids, both DNA and small RNAs, have emerged as potential therapeutics for the treatment of various lung disorders. However, delivery of nucleic acids to the lungs is challenging due to the barrier property imposed by mucus, which is further reinforced in disease conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. The presence of negatively charged mucins imparts the electrostatic barrier property, and the mesh network structure of mucus provides steric hindrance to the delivery system. To overcome this, the delivery system either needs to be muco-inert with a low positive charge such that the interactions with mucus are minimized or should have the ability to transiently dismantle the mucus structure for effective penetration. We have developed a mucus penetrating system for the delivery of both small RNA and plasmid DNA independently. The nucleic acid core consists of a nucleic acid (pDNA/siRNA) and a cationic/amphipathic cell penetrating peptide. The mucus penetrating coating consists of the hydrophilic biopolymer chondroitin sulfate A (CS-A) conjugated with a mucolytic agent, mannitol. We hypothesize that the hydrophilic coating of CS-A would reduce the surface charge and decrease the interaction with negatively charged mucins, while the conjugated mannitol residues would disrupt the mucin-mucin interaction or decrease the viscosity of mucus by increasing the influx of water into the mucus. Our results indicate that CS-A-mannitol-coated nanocomplexes possess reduced surface charge, reduced viscosity of artificial mucus, and increased diffusion in mucin suspension as well as increased penetration through the artificial mucus layer as compared to the non-coated ones. Further, the coated nanocomplexes showed low cytotoxicity as well as higher transfection in A-549 and BEAS-2B cells as compared to the non-coated ones.

A Peptide/MicroRNA-31 nanomedicine within an electrospun biomaterial designed to regenerate wounds in vivo

microRNA-31 (miR-31) has been identified to be downregulated in pathologies associated with delayed wound repair. Thus, it was proposed that the delivery of a plasmid encoding miR-31 (pmiR-31) to the skin could hold potential in promoting wound healing. Effective delivery of pmiR-31 was potentiated by encapsulation with the CHAT peptide to form nanocomplexes, this improved cellular entry and elicited a potent increase in miR-31 expression in vitro in both skin human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) and human microvascular endothelial cell line (HMEC-1). Transfection efficiencies with CHAT/pEFGP-N1 were significant at 15.2 ± 8.1% in HMEC-1 cells and >40% in HaCaT cells. In this study, the CHAT/pmiR-31 nanocomplexes at a N:P ratio of 10 had an average particle size of 74.2 nm with a cationic zeta potential of 9.7 mV. Delivery of CHAT/pmiR-31 to HaCaT and HMEC-1 cells resulted in significant improvements in cell migration capacity and increased angiogenesis. In vivo studies were conducted in C57BL/6 J mice were CHAT/pmiR-31 was delivered via electrospun PVA nanofibres, demonstrating a significant increase in epidermal (increase of ∼38.2 µm) and stratum corneum (increase of 8.2 µm) layers compared to controls. Furthermore, treatment in vivo with CHAT/pmiR-31 increased angiogenesis in wounds compared to controls, with a significant increase in vessel diameter by ∼20.4 µm compared against a commercial dressing control (Durafiber™). Together, these data demonstrate that the delivery of CHAT/pmiR-31 nanocomplexes from electrospun PVA nanofibres represent an innovative therapy for wound repair, eliciting a positive therapeutic response across both stromal and epithelial tissue compartments of the skin. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This study advances research regarding the development of our unique electrospun nanofibre patch to deliver genetic nanoparticles into wounds in vivo to promote healing. The genetic nanoparticles are comprised of: (a) plasmid micro-RNA31 that has been shown to be downregulated in pathologies with delayed wound repair and (b) a 15 amino acid linear peptide termed CHAT. The CHAT facilitates complexation of miR-31 and cellular uptake. Herein, we report for the first time on the use of CHAT to deliver a therapeutic cargo pmiR-31 for wound healing applications from a nanofibre patch. Application of the nanofibre patch resulted in the controlled delivery of the CHAT/pmiR-31 nanoparticles with a significant increase in both epidermal and stratum corneum layers compared to untreated and commercial controls.

Systematic Investigation of Biocompatible Cationic Polymeric Nucleic Acid Carriers for Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third-largest cause of cancer death worldwide, while immunotherapy is rapidly being developed to fight HCC with great potential. Nucleic acid drugs are the most important modulators in HCC immunotherapy. To boost the efficacy of therapeutics and amplify the efficiency of genetic materials, biocompatible polymers are commonly used. However, under the strong need of a summary for current developments of biocompatible polymeric nucleic acid carriers for immunotherapy of HCC, there is rare review article specific to this topic to our best knowledge. In this article, we will discuss the current progress of immunotherapy for HCC, biocompatible cationic polymers (BCPs) as nucleic acid carriers used (or potential) to fight HCC, the roles of biocompatible polymeric carriers for nucleic acid delivery, and nucleic acid delivery by biocompatible polymers for immunotherapy. At the end, we will conclude the review and discuss future perspectives. This article discusses biocompatible polymeric nucleic acid carriers for immunotherapy of HCC from multidiscipline perspectives and provides a new insight in this domain. We believe this review will be interesting to polymer chemists, pharmacists, clinic doctors, and PhD students in related disciplines.

Design of acid-activated cell-penetrating peptides with nuclear localization capacity for anticancer drug delivery

Camptothecin (CPT), a DNA-toxin drug, exerts anticancer activity by inhibiting topoisomerase I. Targeted delivery of CPT into the cancer cell nucleus is important for enhancing its therapeutic efficiency. In this study, a new type of acid-activated cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) with nuclear localization capacity was constructed by conjugating six histidine residues and a hydrophobic peptide sequence, PFVYLI, to the nuclear localization sequence (NLS). Our results indicated that HNLS-3 displayed significant pH-dependent cellular uptake efficiency, endosomal escape ability, and nuclear localization activity. More importantly, the HNLS-3-CPT conjugate showed obviously enhanced cytotoxicity and selectivity compared with CPT. Taken together, our findings provide an effective approach to develop efficient CPPs with both cancer- and nucleus-targeting properties.

Design of a novel electrospun PVA platform for gene therapy applications using the CHAT peptide

The electrospinning of polymers has previously shown excellent potential for localised gene therapy. Thus, it was proposed that for the first time, the cell-penetrating CHAT peptide could be utilised to deliver DNA via electrospun nanofibres for localised gene therapy treatment. CHAT is an effective delivery system that encapsulates pDNA to form nanoparticles with the physicochemical characteristics for cellular uptake and protein generation. In this study, the production of smooth, bead-free PVA nanofibres by electrospinning was optimised through a Design of Experiments approach. Bead-free PVA nanofibres were consistently produced using the optimised parameters as follows: applied voltage (8 kV); collector-emitter distance (8 cm); polymer flow rate (4 µL/min); polymer concentration (9 wt% polymer); PVA M_W (146-180 kDa). PVA nanofibres were subsequently crosslinked in 1 vol% glutaraldehyde in methanol to confer stability under aqueous conditions with minimal change to morphology, and no compromise to biocompatibility. Nanoparticles of CHAT/pDNA were synthesised and incorporated into the crosslinked nanofibres via soak-loading. Evaluation studies indicated that 100% of the loaded cargo was released within 48 h from the nanofibres. Furthermore, the released pDNA retained structural integrity and functionality as confirmed by gel electrophoresis and transfection studies in NCTC-929 fibroblast cells. Taken together, this data demonstrates that delivery of CHAT/pDNA nanoparticles from electrospun PVA nanofibres represents a solution for localised gene therapy.

Endosome-escaping micelle complexes dually equipped with cell-penetrating and endosome-disrupting peptides for efficient DNA delivery into intact plants

The delivery of DNA to plants is crucial for enhancing their ability to produce valuable compounds and adapt to climate change. Peptides can provide a versatile tool for delivering DNA to a specific target organelle in various plant species without the use of specialized equipment. However, peptide-mediated DNA delivery suffers from endosomal entrapment and subsequent vacuolar degradation of the DNA cargo, which leads to poor transfection efficiency. To overcome the lack of a reliable approach for bypassing vacuolar degradation in plants, we herein present an endosome-escaping micelle. The micelle surface is dually modified with cell-penetrating (CPP) and endosome-disrupting peptides (EDP) and the core is composed of plasmid DNA condensed with cationic peptides. Due to the functions of CPP and EDP, the dual peptide-modified micelles efficiently undergo endocytic internalization and escape from endosomes to the cytosol, thereby achieving significantly enhanced transfection of intact plants with negligible cytotoxicity. The present study offers a robust strategy for efficient intracellular DNA delivery to plants without vacuolar degradation, and can facilitate plant bioengineering for diverse biotechnological applications.

Rational design and characterisation of a linear cell penetrating peptide for non-viral gene delivery

The design of a non-viral gene delivery system that can release a functional nucleic acid at the intracellular destination site is an exciting but also challenging proposition. The ideal gene delivery vector must be non-toxic, non-immunogenic, overcome extra- and intra-cellular barriers, protect the nucleic acid cargo from degradation with stability over a range of temperatures. A new 15 amino acid linear peptide termed CHAT was designed in this study with the goal of delivering DNA with high efficiency into cells in vitro and tissues in vivo. Rational design involved incorporation of key amino acids including arginine for nucleic acid complexation and cellular uptake, tryptophan to enhance hydrophobic interaction with cell membranes, histidine to facilitate endosomal escape and cysteine for stability and controlled cargo release. Six linear peptides were synthesised with strategic sequences and amino acid substitutions. Data demonstrated that all six peptides complexed pDNA to produce cationic nanoparticles less than 200 nm in diameter, but not all peptides resulted in successful transfection; indicating the influence of peptide design for endosomal escape. Peptide 4, now termed CHAT, was non-cytotoxic, traversed the plasma membrane of breast and prostate cancer cell lines, and elicited reporter-gene expression following intra-tumoural and intravenous delivery in vivo. CHAT presents an exciting new peptide for the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics.

Peptides as a material platform for gene delivery: Emerging concepts and converging technologies

Successful gene therapies rely on methods that safely introduce DNA into target cells and enable subsequent expression of proteins. To that end, peptides are an attractive materials platform for DNA delivery, facilitating condensation into nanoparticles, delivery into cells, and subcellular release to enable protein expression. Peptides are programmable materials that can be designed to address biocompatibility, stability, and subcellular barriers that limit efficiency of non-viral gene delivery systems. This review focuses on fundamental structure-function relationships regarding peptide design and their impact on nanoparticle physical properties, biologic activity, and biocompatibility. Recent peptide technologies utilize multi-dimensional structures, non-natural chemistries, and combinations of peptides with lipids to achieve desired properties and efficient transfection. Advances in DNA cargo design are also presented to highlight further opportunities for peptide-based gene delivery. Modern DNA designs enable prolonged expression compared to traditional plasmids, providing an additional component that can be synergized with peptide carriers for improved transfection. Peptide transfection systems are poised to become a flexible and efficient platform incorporating new chemistries, functionalities, and improved DNA cargos to usher in a new era of gene therapy.

Development of a nanoparticle that releases nucleic acids in response to a mitochondrial environment

The delivery of nucleic acids targeting mutant mtDNA represent a potential strategy for addressing a variety of mitochondria-related diseases. We previously developed a MITO-Porter, a nano carrier that is capable of delivering nanoparticles of nucleic acids to mitochondria of human cells. Here, we report on an investigation of a series of nanoparticles formed with various poly cationic peptides that can release nucleic acids in response to a mitochondrial environment. A significant relationship was found between the number of and the location of arginine and histidine residues in the peptide sequence and the release of nucleic acids in a mitochondrial environment.

Delivery of pDNA to lung epithelial cells using PLGA nanoparticles formulated with a cell-penetrating peptide: understanding the intracellular fate

The combination of nanoparticles (NPs) and cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) represents a new opportunity to develop plasmid DNA (pDNA) delivery systems with desirable properties for lung delivery. In this study, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) NPs containing pDNA were formulated with and without CPP using a double-emulsion technique. NPs were characterized in regards of size, surface charge, release profile, pDNA encapsulation efficiency and pDNA integrity. Cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, uptake mechanism and pDNA expression were assessed in both A549 and Beas-2B cells. Manufactured PLGA-NPs efficiently encapsulated pDNA with approximately 50% released in the first 24 h of incubation. Addition of CPP was essential to promote NP internalization in both cell lines, with 83.85 ± 1.2% and 96.76 ± 1.7% of Beas-2B and A549 cells, respectively, with internalized NP-DNA-CPP after 3 h of incubation. Internalization appears to occur mainly via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, with other pathways also being used by the different cell lines. An endosomal-escape mechanism seems to happen in both cell lines, and eGFP expression was observed in Beas-2B after 96 h of incubation. In summary, the NP-DNA-CPP delivery system efficiently encapsulated and protected pDNA structure and is being investigated as a promising tool for gene delivery to the lungs.

Antibody-targeted chromatin enables effective intracellular delivery and functionality of CRISPR/Cas9 expression plasmids

We report a novel system for efficient and specific targeted delivery of large nucleic acids to and into cells. Plasmid DNA and core histones were assembled to chromatin by salt gradient dialysis and subsequently connected to bispecific antibody derivatives (bsAbs) via a nucleic acid binding peptide bridge. The resulting reconstituted vehicles termed ‘plasmid-chromatin’ deliver packaged nucleic acids to and into cells expressing antigens that are recognized by the bsAb, enabling intracellular functionality without detectable cytotoxicity. High efficiency of intracellular nucleic acid delivery is revealed by intracellular expression of plasmid encoded genes in most (∼90%) target cells to which the vehicles were applied under normal growth/medium conditions in nanomolar concentrations. Specific targeting, uptake and transgene expression depends on antibody-mediated cell surface binding: plasmid chromatin of identical composition but with non-targeting bsAbs or without bsAbs is ineffective. Examples that demonstrate applicability, specificity and efficacy of antibody-targeted plasmid chromatin include reporter gene constructs as well as plasmids that enable CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genome editing of target cells.

Design and in vitro delivery of HIV-1 multi-epitope DNA and peptide constructs using novel cell-penetrating peptides

OBJECTIVES

Developing an effective HIV vaccine that stimulates the humoral and cellular immune responses is still challenging because of the diversity of HIV-1 virus, polymorphism of human HLA and lack of a suitable delivery system.

RESULTS

Using bioinformatics tools, we designed a DNA construct encoding multiple epitopes. These epitopes were highly conserved within prevalent HIV-1 subtypes and interacted with prevalent class I and II HLAs in Iran and the world. The designed DNA construct included Nef_60-84, Nef_126-144, Vpr_34-47, Vpr_60-75, Gp160_30-53, Gp160_308-323 and P24_8-151 epitopes (i.e., nef-vpr-gp160-p24 DNA) which was cloned into pET-24a(+) and pEGFP-N1 vectors. The recombinant polyepitope peptide (rNef-Vpr-Gp160-P24; ~ 32 kDa) was successfully generated in E. coli expression system. The pEGFP-nef-vpr-gp160-p24 and rNef-Vpr-Gp160-P24 polyepitope peptide were delivered into HEK-293 T cells using cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). The MPG and HR9 CPPs, as well as the novel LDP-NLS and CyLoP-1 CPPs, were utilized for DNA and peptide delivery into the cells, respectively. SEM results confirmed the formation of stable MPG/pEGFP-N1-nef-vpr-gp160-p24, HR9/pEGFP-N1-nef-vpr-gp160-p24, LDP-NLS/rNef-Vpr-Gp160-P24 and CyLoP-1/rNef-Vpr-Gp160-P24 nanoparticles with a diameter of < 200 nm through non-covalent bonds. MTT assay results indicated that these nanoparticles did not have any major toxicity in vitro. Fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and western blot data demonstrated that these CPPs could significantly deliver the DNA and peptide constructs into HEK-293 T cells.

CONCLUSION

The use of these CPPs can be considered as an approach in HIV vaccine development for in vitro and in vivo delivery of DNA and peptide constructs into mammalian cells.

Nucleic acid delivery to differentiated retinal pigment epithelial cells using cell-penetrating peptide as a carrier

Nucleic acid delivery to the eye is a promising treatment strategy for many retinal disorders. In this manuscript, retinal gene delivery with non-coated and chondroitin sulphate (CS) coated amphipathic and cationic peptides was tested. The transfection and gene knockdown efficiencies were evaluated in different retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell models including both dividing and differentiated cells. In addition, the mobility of peptide-based gene delivery systems was examined in porcine vitreous by particle tracking analysis. The results indicate that amphipathic and cationic peptides are safe in vitro and are capable of high transgene expression and gene knockdown in dividing cells. We further demonstrate that incorporation of CS improves the efficiency of gene delivery of peptide-based systems. Most importantly, the transgene expression mediated by both non-coated and CS coated peptides was high in differentiated as well as in human primary RPE cells which are typically difficult to transfect. Coating of peptide-based gene delivery systems with CS improved diffusion in the vitreous and enhanced the stability of the polyplexes. The results indicate that a peptide-based system can be fine-tuned as a promising approach for retinal gene delivery.

Dual-targeting and microenvironment-responsive micelles as a gene delivery system to improve the sensitivity of glioma to radiotherapy

Dbait is a small double-stranded DNA molecule that has been utilized as a radiosensitizer to enhance the sensitivity of glioma to radiotherapy (RT). However, there is no effective drug delivery system to effectively overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The aim of this study was to develop a gene delivery system by using the BBB and glioma dual-targeting and microenvironment-responsive micelles (ch-Kn(s-s)R8-An) to deliver Dbait into glioma for RT. Angiopep-2 can target the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) that is overexpressed on brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) and glioma cells. In particular, due to upregulated matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in the tumor microenvironment, we utilized MMP-2-responsive peptides as the enzymatically degradable linkers to conjugate angiopep-2. The results showed that ch-Kn(s-s)R8-An micelles maintained a reasonable size (80-160 nm) with a moderate distribution and a decreased mean diameter from the cross-linking as well as exhibited low critical micelle concentration (CMC) with positive surface charge, ranging from 15 to 40 mV. The ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/pEGFP showed high gene transfection efficiency in vitro, improved uptake in glioma cells and good biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the combination of ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/Dbait with RT significantly inhibited the growth of U251 cells in vitro. Thus, ch-K5(s-s)R8-An/Dbait may prove to be a promising gene delivery system to target glioma and enhance the efficacy of RT on U251 cells.

Synergistic effect of reduced polypeptide micelle for co-delivery of doxorubicin and TRAIL against drug-resistance in breast cancer

Cationic peptides as a non-viral gene vector have become a hotspot of research because of their high transfection efficcacy and safety. Based on our previous study, we synthesized a cationic reduction-responsive vector based on disulfide cross-linked L-arginine, L-histidine and lipoic acid (LHRss) as the co-carrier of both doxorubicin (DOX) and the necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (pTRAIL). The LHRss/DOX/TRAIL construct has reduction-sensitive behavior and an enhanced endosomal escape ability to increase the cytotoxicity of DOX and the transfection efficiency. Further, the LHRss/DOX/TRAIL construct increased the accumulation of DOX and promoted the expression of pTRAIL, thus increasing cellular apoptosis by 83.7% in MCF-7/ADR cells. In addition, the in vivo biodistribution results showed that the LHRss/DOX/TRAIL construct could target tumors well. The in vivo anti-tumor effect study demonstrated that the LHRss/DOX/TRAIL construct inhibited tumor growth markedly, with a tumor inhibitory rate of 94.0%. The co-delivery system showed a significant synergistic anti-tumor effect. The LHRss/DOX/TRAIL construct may prove to be a promising co-delivery vector for the effective treatment of drug resistant breast cancer.

The structure and configuration changes of multifunctional peptide vectors enhance gene delivery efficiency

We designed a series of peptide vectors that contain functional fragments with the goal of enhancing cellular internalization and gene transfection efficiency. The functional fragments included a cell-penetrating peptide (R₉), a cationic amphiphilic α-helical peptide [(LLKK)₃-H₆ or (LLHH)₃], a stearyl moiety, and cysteine residues. Vectors were also synthesized with D-type amino acids to improve their proteolytic stability. The conformations, particle sizes, and zeta potentials for complexes of these peptides with pGL3 plasmid DNA were characterized by circular dichroism and dynamic light scattering. In addition, cellular uptake of the peptide/DNA complexes and gene transfection efficiency were investigated with fluorescence-activated cell sorting and confocal laser-scanning microscopy. Greater transfection efficiency was achieved with the vectors containing the R₉ segment, and the efficiency was greater than Lipo2000. In addition, the D-type C₁₈-c(llkk)₃ch₆-r₉ had about 7 times and 5.5 times the transfection efficiency of Lipo2000 in 293T cells and NIH-3T3 cells at the N/P ratio of 6, respectively. Overall, the multifunctional peptide gene vectors containing the R₉ segment exhibited enhanced cellular internalization, a high gene transfection efficiency, and low cytotoxicity.

The R₉ containing peptide vectors can improve the gene transfection efficiency.

Systemic delivery of the tumor necrosis factor gene to tumors by a novel dual DNA-nanocomplex in a nanoparticle system

Many cancers fail to respond to immunotherapy as a result of immune suppression by the tumor microenvironment. The exogenous expression of immune cytokines to reprogram the tumor microenvironment represents an approach to circumvent this suppression. The present studies describe the development of a novel dual nanoparticle (DNP) system for driving DNA expression vectors encoding inflammatory cytokines in tumor cells. The DNP system consists of a DNA expression vector-cationic peptide nanocomplex (NC) surrounded by a diblock polymeric NP. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) was selected as the prototype cytokine for this system, based on its pleotropic inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. Our results demonstrate that the DNP system is highly effective in driving expression of TNF in tumor cells. We also demonstrate that the DNPs are effective in inducing apoptosis and anti-tumor activity. These findings support a novel immunotherapeutic approach for the intratumoral delivery of DNA vectors that express inflammatory cytokines.

Aptamer-functionalized peptide H3CR5C as a novel nanovehicle for codelivery of fasudil and miRNA-195 targeting hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed malignancy, of which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the dominating histological subtype. Antiangiogenic therapy aimed at vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has shown promising but deficient clinical prospects on account of vasculogenic mimicry, a highly patterned vascular channel distinguished from the endothelium-dependent blood vessel, which may function as blood supply networks occurring in aggressive tumors including HCC. In this study, we used a new cationic peptide, disulfide cross-linked stearylated polyarginine peptide modified with histidine (H3R5), as a reducible vector, cell penetrating peptide-modified aptamer (ST21) with specific binding to HCC cells to conjugate to peptide H3R5 as the targeting probe, miRNA-195 (miR195) as a powerful gene drug to inhibit VEGF, and fasudil to suppress vasculogenic mimicry by blocking ROCK2, all of which were simultaneously encapsulated in the same nanoparticles. Fasudil was loaded by ammonium sulfate-induced transmembrane electrochemical gradient and miR195 was condensed through electrostatic interaction. ST21-H3R5-polyethylene glycol (PEG) exhibited excellent loading capacities for both fasudil and miR195 with adjustable dosing ratios. Western blot analysis showed that (Fasudil)ST21-H3R5-PEGmiR195 had strong silencing activity of ROCK2 and VEGF, as compared with (Fasudil)H3R5-PEGmiR195. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that ST21-modified nanoparticles showed significantly higher cellular uptake and therapeutic efficacy in tumor cells or tumor tissues than the unmodified counterparts. These findings suggest that aptamer-conjugated peptide holds great promise for delivering chemical drugs and gene drugs simultaneously to overcome HCC.

Versatile nuclear localization signal-based oligopeptide as a gene vector

To develop a versatile nuclear-targeted gene vector, nuclear localization signal (NLS) oligopeptides combining cysteine (C), histidine (H), and stearic acid (STR) were investigated in this study. The original SV40 sequence (SV40: Pro-Lys-Lys-Lys-Arg-Lys-Val) was selected as the NLS sequence, and physical characterizations of various NLS-based oligopeptides (CSV40C, STR-CSV40C, and STR-CH2SV40H2C), including mean diameter, zeta-potential, complex condensation, and decondensation, were evaluated. In addition, cellular and nuclear uptake of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and gene expression in COS7 and dendritic cells (JAWS II) were determined. As a result, C and STR enhanced formation of a smaller and more stable nano-complex with pDNA based on ionic interactions, the disulfide linkage and hydrophobic interactions. STR-CSV40C and STR-CH2SV40H2C had significantly higher cellular uptake ability and transfection efficiency than SV40 and CSV40C. In particular, STR-CH2SV40H2C had higher nuclear uptake and gene expression efficiency than STR-CSV40C. Furthermore, STR-CH2SV40H2C could deliver pDNA to the nuclei and had high gene expression efficiency in dendritic cells. Our results indicate that STR-CH2SV40H2C is a promising gene delivery system in non- or slow-dividing cells.

Reduction-responsive cross-linked stearyl peptide for effective delivery of plasmid DNA

Low efficiency and significant toxicity are the main obstacles to successful gene delivery. We have developed a cationic reduction-responsive vector based on a disulfide cross-linked stearylated polyarginine peptide modified with histidine (C-SHR) for DNA delivery. The structure of the C-SHR was characterized, and the in vitro and in vivo transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity of C-SHR/plasmid DNA complexes were examined. Compared with non-cross-linked stearylated polyarginine peptide (SHR), C-SHR increased the intracellular uptake and dissociation behavior of the complexes. In addition, the gene transfection efficiency of C-SHR/plasmid DNA complexes in HEK293 and HeLa cells was improved and was comparable with that of bPEI-25K/plasmid DNA complexes, and the cytotoxicity of C-SHR was significantly less than that of bPEI-25K. Importantly, the in vivo gene transfection efficiency of C-SHR/plasmid DNA complexes was five fold higher than that of SHR/plasmid DNA complexes, suggesting that C-SHR is an efficient non-viral vector for DNA delivery.

Designer peptide delivery systems for gene therapy

Gene therapy has long been hailed as a revolutionary approach for the treatment of genetic diseases. The enthusiasm that greeted the harnessing of viruses for therapeutic DNA delivery has been tempered by concerns over safety. These concerns led to the development of alternative strategies for nucleic acid delivery to cells. One such strategy is the utilization of cationic peptides for the condensation of therapeutic DNA for delivery to its target. However, success of DNA as a therapy relies on its delivery to the nucleus of target cells, a process that is complicated by the many hurdles encountered following systemic administration. Non-viral peptide gene delivery strategies have sought inspiration from viruses in order to retain DNA delivering potency, but limit virulence. This review summarizes the progression of peptide-based DNA delivery systems, from rudimentary beginnings to the recent development of sophisticated multi-functional vectors that comprise distinct motifs with dedicated barrier evasion functions. The most promising peptides that achieve cell membrane permeabilization, endosomal escape and nuclear delivery are discussed.

Contrasting effects of cysteine modification on the transfection efficiency of amphipathic peptides

Delivery of DNA to cells remains a key challenge towards development of gene therapy. A better understanding of the properties involved in stability and transfection efficiency of the vector could critically contribute to the improvement of delivery vehicles. In the present work we have chosen two peptides differing only in amphipathicity and explored how presence of cysteine affects DNA uptake and transfection efficiency. We report an unusual observation that addition of cysteine selectively increases transfection efficiency of secondary amphipathic peptide (Mgpe-9) and causes a drop in the primary amphipathic peptide (Mgpe-10). Our results point the effect of cysteine is dictated by the importance of physicochemical properties of the carrier peptide. We also report a DNA delivery agent Mgpe-9 exhibiting high transfection efficiency in multiple cell lines (including hard-to-transfect cell lines) with minimal cytotoxicity which can be further explored for in vivo applications.