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Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Oleyl-WRH Peptides for siRNA Delivery
oleh: Mrigank Shekhar Rai, Muhammad Imran Sajid, Jonathan Moreno, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2024-08-01 |
Deskripsi
Delivering nucleic acid therapeutics across cell membranes is a significant challenge. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) containing arginine (R), tryptophan (W), and histidine (H) show promise for siRNA delivery. To improve siRNA delivery and silence a model STAT3 gene, we hypothesized that oleyl acylation to CPPs, specifically (WRH)<sub>n</sub>, would enhance STAT3 silencing efficiency in breast and ovarian cancer cells. Using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide chemistry, we synthesized, purified, and characterized the oleyl-conjugated (WRH)<sub>n</sub> (n = 1–4) peptides. The peptide/siRNA complexes were non-cytotoxic at N/P 40 (~20 μM) against MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, SK-OV-3, and HEK-293 cells after 72 h incubation. All peptide/siRNA complexes showed serum stability at N/P ≥ 40. The synthesized conjugates, with a diameter of <100 nm, formed nano-complexes with siRNA and exhibited a stable range of zeta potential values (13–18 mV at N/P = 40). Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry analysis provided qualitative and quantitative evidence of a successful cellular internalization of siRNA. The peptides oleyl-(WRH)<sub>3</sub> and oleyl-(WRH)<sub>4</sub> showed ~60% and ~75% cellular uptake of siRNA, respectively, in both MDA-MB-231 and SK-OV-3 cells. Western blot analysis of oleyl-(WRH)<sub>4</sub> demonstrated effective silencing of the STAT-3 gene, with ~75% silencing in MDA-MB-231 cells and ~45% in SK-OV-3 cells.