Effect of the NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide on canine glioblastoma cells

Glioblastomas are the most frequent and aggressive cancer of the nervous system. The standard treatment is composed of neurosurgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but the median survival remains very low. The NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide, also known as NFL-peptide, is capable to specifically penetrating all glioblastoma cell lines tested so far (rat, mouse and human), where it alters their microtubule network. Consequently, the peptide inhibits selectively the in vitro cell division of glioblastoma cells and their tumor development in vivo. When lipid nanocapsules are functionalized with the NFL-peptide, their uptake is targeted into glioblastoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we evaluated the impact of the NFL-peptide on J3T cells derived from a canine spontaneous glioblastoma, and its activity when functionalized to nanocapsules. Both flow cytometry and confocal microscopy experiments indicate that the NFL-peptide interacts with these cells and affects their biology, but it cannot enter in cells. By functionalizing lipid nanoparticles with the NFL-peptide, their uptake is also increased, while the peptide stays outside. This investigation reveals similarities and major differences between these canine cells and other glioblastoma cells, which are important aspects to consider when using this type of drug delivery system or performing pre-clinical studies with this animal model.