Aliphatic acid-conjugated antimicrobial peptides--potential agents with anti-tumor, multidrug resistance-reversing activity and enhanced stability

Org Biomol Chem. 2015 Jul 28;13(28):7673-80. doi: 10.1039/c5ob00752f. Epub 2015 Jun 17.

Abstract

Compared with traditional therapeutics, antimicrobial peptides as novel anti-tumor agents have prominent advantages of higher specificity and circumvention of multi-drug resistance. In a previous study, we found that B1, an antimicrobial peptide derived from Cathelicidin-BF15, presented specific anti-tumor activity against several tumor cells. Since aliphatic chain-conjugated peptides have shown ameliorative activity and stability, we conjugated aliphatic acids with different lengths to the amino terminal of B1. All the conjugated peptides exhibited improved anti-tumor activity over B1. Further investigations revealed that the peptides were capable of disrupting the cell membrane, stimulating cytochrome c release into the cytosol, which results in apoptosis. The peptides also acted against multidrug resistant cells and had multidrug resistance-reversing effects. Additionally, conjugation of aliphatic acid enhanced the peptide stability in plasma. In summary, aliphatic acid-modified peptides might be promising anti-tumor agents in the future.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / chemistry
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple / drug effects*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Fatty Acids / chemistry
  • Fatty Acids / pharmacology*
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • K562 Cells
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Fatty Acids