Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University & Tampere University Hospital, 33520 Tampere, Finland.
Department of Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
Mol Ther. 2020 Aug 5;28(8):1833-1845. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.05.017. Epub 2020 May 20.
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.
全身性皮肤选择性治疗将是治疗影响整个皮肤的疾病(如隐性营养不良性大疱性表皮松解症,RDEB)的重大进展,RDEB 是由 COL7A1 基因突变引起的,表现为转化生长因子-β(TGF-β)驱动的纤维化和恶性转化。含有 C 末端 R/KXXR/K 基序(C 末端规则 [CendR] 序列)的归巢肽可激活肿瘤特异性药物输送的血管外渗和组织穿透途径。我们之前描述了一种归巢肽 CRKDKC(CRK),它含有一个隐蔽的 CendR 基序,可归巢到伤口和肿瘤中的血管生成血管,但它不能穿透细胞或组织。在这项研究中,我们证明从 CRK 中去除半胱氨酸以暴露 CendR 序列赋予该肽新的归巢正常皮肤的能力。将截短的 CRK(tCRK)肽融合到细胞外基质蛋白decorin(DCN)的 C 末端,DCN 是一种天然的 TGF-β抑制剂,导致皮肤归巢治疗分子(DCN-tCRK)。在 RDEB 小鼠中全身性给予 DCN-tCRK 可抑制皮肤中的 TGF-β信号,并显著提高 RDEB 小鼠的存活率。这些结果表明,DCN-tCRK 有可能被用作治疗 RDEB 等皮肤病的新型治疗化合物。