Published in Angiogenesis
Nucleolin is specifically transported to the surface of proliferating endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. In contrast to its well defined functions in the nucleus and cytoplasm, the function of cell surface nucleolin is poorly defined. We have previously identified the nucleolin-binding antibody NCL3 that specifically binds to cell surface nucl...
Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry
Bit1 (Bcl-2 inhibitor of transcription) is a mitochondrial protein that induces caspase-independent apoptosis upon its release into the cytoplasm. Bit1 is primarily associated with anoikis (cell death induced by detachment from the extracellular matrix), because the apoptotic function of Bit1 is inhibited by integrin-mediated cell attachment but no...
Published in Nanomedicine Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine
We have used tumor-homing peptides to target abraxane, a clinically approved paclitaxel-albumin nanoparticle, to tumors in mice. The targeting was accomplished with two peptides, CREKA and LyP-1 (CGNKRTRGC). Fluorescein (FAM)-labeled CREKA-abraxane, when injected intravenously into mice bearing MDA-MB-435 human cancer xenografts, accumulated in tum...
Published in Cancer Research
A tumor homing peptide, LyP-1, selectively binds to tumor-associated lymphatic vessels and tumor cells in certain tumors and exhibits an antitumor effect. Here, we show that the protein known as p32 or gC1q receptor is the receptor for LyP-1. Various human tumor cell lines were positive for p32 expression in culture, and the expression was increase...
Published in Bioconjugate chemistry
The in vivo fate of nanomaterials strongly determines their biomedical efficacy. Accordingly, much effort has been invested into the development of library screening methods to select targeting ligands for a diversity of sites in vivo. Still, broad application of chemical and biological screens to the in vivo targeting of nanomaterials requires lig...
Published in Biomaterials
Efficacious delivery of drugs and genes to the heart is an important goal. Here, a radiolabeled peptide-targeted liposome was engineered to bind to the heart, and the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics were determined by dynamic positron emission tomography in the FVB mouse. Efficient targeting occurred only with an exposed ligand and a dense con...
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Bcl-2 inhibitor of transcription (Bit1) is a mitochondrial protein that functions as a peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase, but, when released into the cytoplasm, it elicits apoptosis. The proapoptotic function is uniquely counteracted by integrin-mediated cell attachment. We generated a conditional KO mouse of the Bit1 gene by using the Cre-LoxP recombination...
Published in American Journal Of Pathology
We have explored molecular specialization of the vasculature of regenerating wound tissue in the skin and tendons to identify a different repertoire of markers from that obtained by studying tumor vasculature. We screened a phage-displayed peptide library for peptides that home to wounds in mice and identified two peptides that selectively target p...
Published in The Journal of Immunology
The ability of viruses and bacteria to interact with the extracellular matrix plays an important role in their infectivity and pathogenicity. Fibronectin is a major component of the extracellular matrix in lymph node tissue, the main site of HIV deposition and replication during the chronic phase of infection. Therefore, we asked whether matrix fib...
Published in Nature
Glomerulonephritis is an inflammation of the kidney characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix within the damaged glomeruli, impaired filtration and proteinuria. In its progressive form, the disease destroys kidney function leading to uraemia and death, unless dialysis therapy or kidney transplantation is available. The pathogenesis ...
