Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu, EE51010 Tartu, Estonia.
Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2013 Jul;65(8):1031-8. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2013.04.013. Epub 2013 Apr 24.
For widening the arsenal of protein and peptide therapeutics that act within cells, their cell-entry mechanisms, intracellular trafficking and distribution need to be characterized in detail. Immunofluorescence microscopy has been a prevalent tool for these studies. However, due to the limited resolution, it is often complemented with other methods. This article focuses on the perspectives of electron microscopy in tracking the intracellular delivery and trafficking of proteins, peptides and their carriers. This review introduces the electron microscopy techniques and labeling methods currently used for studying the cellular whereabouts of peptides and proteins with a focus on their intracellular trafficking. Since cell-penetrating peptides have widely been harnessed as carriers for proteins and peptides, and their usage is rapidly expanding, a particular emphasis has been placed on their applications and cell-entry mechanisms.
为了拓宽在细胞内发挥作用的蛋白质和肽类治疗药物的种类，需要详细描述其细胞进入机制、细胞内运输和分布。免疫荧光显微镜一直是这些研究的常用工具。然而，由于分辨率有限，它通常需要与其他方法结合使用。本文重点介绍了电子显微镜在追踪蛋白质、肽及其载体的细胞内递药和运输方面的应用。本文介绍了目前用于研究肽和蛋白质细胞内去向的电子显微镜技术和标记方法，重点介绍了它们的细胞内运输。由于细胞穿透肽已广泛被用作蛋白质和肽的载体，并且其使用正在迅速扩大，因此特别强调了它们的应用和细胞进入机制。
