Department of Biology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 14;24(6):5537. doi: 10.3390/ijms24065537.
In the large field of bioactive peptides, peptaibols represent a unique class of compounds. They are membrane-active peptides, produced by fungi of the genus and known to elicit plant defenses. Among the short-length peptaibols, trichogin GA IV is nonhemolytic, proteolysis-resistant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic. Several trichogin analogs are endowed with potent activity against phytopathogens, thus representing a sustainable alternative to copper for plant protection. In this work, we tested the activity of trichogin analogs against a breast cancer cell line and a normal cell line of the same derivation. Lys-containing trichogins showed an IC below 12 µM, a peptide concentration not significantly affecting the viability of normal cells. Two analogs were found to be membrane-active but noncytotoxic. They were anchored to gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and further investigated for their ability to act as targeting agents. GNP uptake by cancer cells increased with peptide decoration, while it decreased in the corresponding normal epithelial cells. This work highlights the promising biological properties of peptaibol analogs in the field of cancer therapy either as cytotoxic molecules or as active targeting agents in drug delivery.
在生物活性肽的广阔领域中,短肽类抗生素代表了一类独特的化合物。它们是由真菌产生的膜活性肽,已知能引发植物防御。在短肽类抗生素中,曲古抑菌素 GA IV 是非溶血的、抗蛋白水解的、具有抗菌和细胞毒性。几种曲古抑菌素类似物对植物病原菌具有很强的活性,因此是植物保护中铜的可持续替代品。在这项工作中,我们测试了曲古抑菌素类似物对乳腺癌细胞系和同一来源的正常细胞系的活性。含有赖氨酸的曲古抑菌素的 IC 值低于 12µM,这是一种不会显著影响正常细胞活力的肽浓度。发现两种类似物具有膜活性但无细胞毒性。它们被锚定在金纳米粒子 (GNPs) 上,并进一步研究它们作为靶向剂的能力。带有肽的 GNPs 被癌细胞摄取的增加,而在相应的正常上皮细胞中则减少。这项工作突出了短肽类抗生素类似物在癌症治疗领域作为细胞毒性分子或作为药物递送中的主动靶向剂的有前途的生物学特性。