title: Loligomers: design of de novo peptide-based intracellular vehicles.
abstract: Defined branched peptides (loligomers) incorporating cytoplasmic translocation signals, nuclear localization sequences, and fluorescent probes were designed and synthesized to demonstrate the feasibility and simplicity of creating novel classes of intracellular vehicles. Loligomers containing all the above signals were rapidly internalized by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and accumulated in their nucleus. At 4 degrees C, the interaction of peptide constructs with CHO cells was limited to membrane association. Loligomers entered cells at higher temperatures by adsorptive endocytosis. Inhibitors of ATP synthesis affected cytoplasmic import only weakly but abolished nuclear uptake. The peptide signals guided both cytoplasmic and nuclear localization events. The properties exhibited by loligomers suggest a strategy for the facile design of "guided" classes of intracellular agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sheldon
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gariépy
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D016466:CHO Cells; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015195:Drug Design; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007700:Kinetics; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides