A free cysteine prolongs the half-life of a homing peptide and improves its tumor-penetrating activity
Published in Journal of Controlled Release
Vascular histomolecular analysis by sequential endoarterial biopsy in a shunt model of pulmonary hypertension.
Published in Pulmonary circulation
The molecular mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain ill-defined. The aims of this study were to obtain sequential endoarterial biopsy samples in a surgical porcine model of PAH and assess changes in histology and mRNA expression during the disease progression. Differentially expressed genes were then analyzed as potential pharm...
TLE1 is an anoikis regulator and is downregulated by Bit1 in breast cancer cells.
Published in Molecular cancer research : MCR
TLE1 is a Groucho-related transcriptional repressor protein that exerts survival and antiapoptotic function in several cellular systems and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer. In the present study, we found that TLE1 is a regulator of anoikis in normal mammary epithelial and breast carcinoma cells. The induction of apoptosis followin...
Peptides as targeting elements and tissue penetration devices for nanoparticles.
Published in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
The use of nanoparticles in medicine (nanomedicine) has recently become an intensely studied field. Nanoparticles carrying drugs and imaging agents have already reached the clinic, but they are essentially passive delivery vehicles, not what are referred to as "smart" nanoparticles. An important function to add to make nanoparticles smarter is acti...
Mapping of Vascular ZIP Codes by Phage Display
Published in Methods in Enzymology
Each organ and pathology has a unique vascular ZIP code that can be targeted with affinity ligands. In vivo peptide phage display can be used for unbiased mapping of the vascular diversity. Remarkably, some of the peptides identified by such screens not only bind to target vessels but also elicit biological responses. Recently identified tissue-pen...
Transtumoral targeting enabled by a novel neuropilin-binding peptide
Published in Oncogene
We have recently described a class of peptides that improve drug delivery by increasing penetration of drugs into solid tumors. These peptides contain a C-terminal C-end Rule (CendR) sequence motif (R/K)XX(R/K), which is responsible for cell internalization and tissue-penetration activity. Tumor-specific CendR peptides contain both a tumor-homing m...
Enhanced magnetic resonance contrast of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles trapped in a porous silicon nanoparticle host.
Published in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Peptides targeting inflamed synovial vasculature attenuate autoimmune arthritis.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, frequently target one major tissue/organ despite the systemic nature of the immune response. This is particularly perplexing in the case of ubiquitously distributed antigens invoked in arthritis induction. We reasoned that selective targeting of the synovial joints in autoimmune arthritis might be ...
Binding of a C-end rule peptide to the neuropilin-1 receptor: a molecular modeling approach.
Published in Biochemistry
Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) is a receptor that plays an essential role in angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and nervous system development. Previous studies have shown that peptides with an N-terminal Arg, especially peptides with the four-residue consensus sequence R/K/XXR/K, bind to NRP-1 cell surfaces. Peptides containing such consensus sequences pr...
Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
...Published in The American Journal of Pathology
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disorder of the pulmonary vasculature associated with elevated pulmonary vascular resistance. Despite recent advances in the treatment of PAH, with eight approved clinical therapies and additional therapies undergoing clinical trials, PAH remains a serious life-threatening condition. The lack of pulmonary ...
