title: Intracellular delivery: exploiting viral membranotropic peptides.
abstract: Recent advances in the understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of several diseases offer the possibility to address novel molecular targets for an improved diagnosis and therapy. In fact, in order to fulfill their function, macromolecular drugs, reporter molecules, and imaging agents often require to be delivered into specific intracellular compartments, usually the cytoplasm or the nucleus. From a medical perspective, biological membranes represent a critical hindrance due to their barrier-like behaviour not easily circumvented by many pharmacologically-active molecules. Therefore, identifying strategies for membrane translocation is essential. Several technologies have been designed to improve cellular uptake of therapeutic molecules, including cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). These peptides, which are able to efficiently translocate macromolecules through the plasma membrane, have attracted a lot of attention, and new translocating peptides are continuously described. In this review, we will focus on the viral derived peptides, and in particular those derived by viral entry proteins that may be useful as delivery vehicles due to their intrinsic properties of inducing membrane perturbation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine-II University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galdiero
authors.forename: Mariateresa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vitiello
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falanga
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cantisani
authors.forename: Novella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Incoronato
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galdiero
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins