Amphiphilic bicyclic peptides as cellular delivery agents

Two bicyclic peptides composed of tryptophan and arginine residues were synthesized from monocyclic peptide building blocks and evaluated as cellular delivery agents. [W5G]-(triazole)-[KR5] and [W5E]-(β-Ala)-[KR5] containing triazole and β-alanine linkers improved the cellular delivery of fluorescein (F')-labeled phosphopeptide F'-GpYEEI (F'-PP) by 7.6- and 19.3-fold, respectively, in human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells. However, parent monocyclic peptide [R5 ] and monocyclic peptide [WR]4 only enhanced the cellular uptake of the phosphopeptide by only 1.3- and 3.7-fold, respectively. Confocal microscopy showed that the corresponding fluorescein-labeled bicyclic peptide F'-[KW4E]-(β-Ala)-[KR5] was localized in the cytosol and nucleus. Studying the cellular uptake of F'-[KW4E]-(β-Ala)-[KR5] in the presence of endocytosis inhibitors indicated that the clathrin- and caveolin-dependent endocytosis are the main pathways for cellular uptake. The bicyclic peptide was able to improve antiproliferative activity of doxorubicin by 20 %. These data suggest that this bicyclic peptide can be utilized as a new class of cell-penetrating peptides and cellular delivery tools.