title: Non-covalent delivery of proteins into mammalian cells.
abstract: Substances that mediate the import of proteins into cells, "carriers", have many potential applications. The most potentially useful carriers do not have to be covalently linked to their protein cargoes. However, a common problem with all carrier molecules is that they tend to deposit the cargo proteins into endosomes; diffuse distribution in the cytosol is the desired outcome. This paper describes the import of four different labeled (Alexa Fluor 488) proteins (avidin, recombinant streptavidin, bovine serum albumin, and beta-galactosidase), with the well-known non-covalent carrier called pep-1 (also known as Chariot), with R(8) (a molecule that is not widely appreciated to import protein cargoes via a non-covalent mode of action), and with a new molecule called azo-R(8). The data collected from fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry indicate that all three non-covalent carriers can facilitate transport. At 37 degrees C, import into endocytic compartments dominates, but at 4 degrees C weak, diffuse fluorescence is observed in the cytosol, indicative of a favorable mode of action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A & M University, Box 30012, College Station, TX 77841, USA.
authors.forename: Aurore
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loudet
authors.forename: Junyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Rola
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barhoumi
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pellois
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Burghardt
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burgess
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002417:Cattle; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D004058:Diffusion; D015195:Drug Design; D004705:Endocytosis; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005453:Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D011506:Proteins