title: Characterization of bioactive cell penetrating peptides from human cytochrome c: protein mimicry and the development of a novel apoptogenic agent.
abstract: Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) with intrinsic biological activities offer a novel strategy for the modulation of intracellular events. QSAR analysis identified CPPs within human cytochrome c. Two such sequences, Cyt c(77-101) and Cyt c(86-101), induced tumor cell apoptosis, thus mimicking the role of Cyt c as a key regulator of programmed cell death. Quantitative analyses confirmed that Cyt c(77-101) is an extremely efficient CPP. Thus, Cyt c(77-101) was selected for modification to incorporate target-specific peptidyl motifs. Chimeric N-terminal extension with a target mimetic of FG nucleoporins significantly enhanced the apoptogenic potency of Cyt c(77-101) to a concentration readily achievable in vivo. Moreover, this construct, Nup153-Cyt c, facilitates the dramatic redistribution of nuclear pore complex proteins and thus propounds the nuclear pore complex as a novel target for the therapeutic induction of apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pharmacology Research Group, Research Institute in Healthcare Science, School of Applied Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV11SB, UK. s.jones4@wlv.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: Imre
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mäger
authors.forename: Ulo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Langel
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Howl
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D021381:Protein Transport
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D045304:Cytochromes c