title: Electrostatic charge conversion processes in engineered tumor-identifying polypeptides for targeted chemotherapy.
abstract: One of the current challenges in cancer chemotherapy is the ultra-sensitive identification of in vivo tumors. Herein, we report a new class of tumor-identifying polypeptides that can home in on in vivo tumors via an electrostatic charge conversion process occurring in the acidic milieu of a verity of tumors, which can be distinguished from receptor-interacting conventional tumor-homing peptides. We exploit the chemical coupling between polypeptides and therapeutic objects (drugs or particles) to carry out an antitumor study in nude mice, and find a significant increase in the efficiency of polypeptide-tagged objects in tumor uptake and inhibition, which is more significant than any known tumor-homing peptide system thus far developed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, 43-1 Yeokgok 2-dong, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do 420-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Nam Muk
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Dong Sup
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kwag
authors.forename: Kyung Taek
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Yu Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: Eun Seong
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods; D055672:Static Electricity; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010455:Peptides