Identification of a novel cell-penetrating peptide derived from the capsid protein of chicken anemia virus and its application in gene delivery.

Identification of a novel cell-penetrating peptide derived from the capsid protein of chicken anemia virus and its application in gene delivery. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2020 Nov 03;: Authors: Hu G, Miao Y, Luo X, Chu W, Fu Y Abstract Cell membranes are a great obstacle for entrance of gene therapeutic agents. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been proven as a promising gene delivery tool. However, the early TAT peptide derived from the HIV transcription activator protein has been proven that the sequence contains Furin protease cleaved motifs which limited the TAT application in delivery of exogenous active molecules. In the present study, through the bioinformatics and experimental approach, we have identified a novel CPP derived from the N terminus of VP1 protein of chicken anemia virus (CAV), designated as CVP1-N2, which is rich in arginine residues and contains α-helical structure. Then, the ability of CVP1-N2 cell penetrating was detected using confocal imaging and flow cytometry. FITC-labeled CVP1-N2 peptide could rapidly internalize into different types of live cells with dose dependence and without cytotoxic effects by MTT assay. Surprisingly, CVP1-N2 with a pattern of nuclear sub-location has shown the higher uptake efficiency than TAT. At 10, 1, and 0.1 μM, the mean relative internalization of CVP1-N2 was respectively 1.08-, 12-, and 75-fold higher than that of CVP1, as well as 1.6-, 56-, and 75-fold higher than th...
Source: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Microbiol Biotechnol Source Type: research