Work

Development of a Peptide–Drug Conjugate for Prostate Cancer Therapy

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: TGX-221 is a highly potent phosphoinositide 3-kinase β (PI3Kβ) inhibitor that holds great promise as a novel chemotherapeutic agent to treat prostate cancer. However, poor solubility and lack of targetability limit its therapeutic applications. The objective of this present study is to develop a peptide-drug conjugate to specifically deliver TGX-221 to HER2 overexpressing prostate cancer cells. Four TGX-221 derivatives with added hydroxyl groups were synthesized for peptide conjugation. Among them, TGX-D1 exhibited a similar bioactivity to TGX-221, and it was selected for conjugation with a peptide promoiety containing a HER2-targeting ligand and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) substrate linkage. From this selection, the peptide-drug conjugate was proven to be gradually cleaved by PSA to release TGX-D1. Cellular uptake of the peptide-drug conjugate was significantly higher in prostate cancer cells compared to the parent drug. Moreover, both the peptide-drug conjugate and its cleaved products demonstrated comparable activities as the parent drug TGX-D1. Our results suggest that this peptide-drug conjugate may provide a promising chemotherapy for prostate cancer patients.

Source: Molecular Pharmaceutics

DOI: 10.1021/mp200007b

Authors: Wanyi Tai, Ravi S. Shukla, Bin Qin, Benyi Li, Kun Cheng

Institutions: University of Missouri–Kansas City, University of Kansas Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Cancer Institute