title: Hybrid melittin cytolytic Peptide-driven ultrasmall lipid nanoparticles block melanoma growth in vivo.
abstract: The cytolytic peptide melittin is a potential anticancer candidate that may be able to overcome tumor drug resistance due to its lytic properties. However, in vivo applications of melittin are limited due to its main side effect, hemolysis, which is especially pronounced following intravenous administration. Here, we designed a hybrid cytolytic peptide, α-melittin, in which the N-terminus of melittin is linked to the C-terminus of an amphipathic α-helical peptide (α-peptide) via a GSG linker. The strong α-helical configuration allows α-melittin to interact with phospholipids and self-assemble into lipid nanoparticles, with a high efficiency for α-melittin encapsulation (>80%) and a strong ability to control the structure of the nanoparticle (~20 nm). This α-melittin-based lipid nanoparticle (α-melittin-NP) efficiently shields the positive charge of melittin (18.70 ± 0.90 mV) within the phospholipid monolayer, resulting in the generation of a neutral nanoparticle (2.45 ± 0.56 mV) with reduced cytotoxicity and a widened safe dosage range. Confocal imaging data confirmed that α-melittin peptides were efficiently released from the nanoparticles and were cytotoxic to the melanoma cells. Finally, α-melittin-NPs were administered to melanoma-bearing mice via intravenous injection. The growth of the melanoma cells was blocked by the α-melittin-NPs, with an 82.8% inhibition rate relative to the PBS-treated control group. No side effects of treatment were found in this study. Thus, the excellent properties of α-melittin-NP give it potential clinical applications in solid tumor therapeutics through intravenous administration.
authors.affiliation: Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics-Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Shuhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Haiming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Qingming
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004058:Diffusion; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D008555:Melitten / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D053769:Nanocapsules / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D008055:Lipids; D053769:Nanocapsules; D008555:Melitten