Discovery, X-ray structure and CPP-conjugation enabled uptake of p53/MDM2 macrocyclic peptide inhibitors.

Mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2, Hdm2) is an important negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. Using a mRNA based display technique to screen a library of >10 -translated cyclic peptides, we have identified a macrocyclic ligand that shows picomolar potency on MDM2. X-Ray crystallography reveals a novel binding mode utilizing a unique pharmacophore to occupy the Phe/Trp/Leu pockets on MDM2.

Targeted Subcellular Protein Delivery Using Cleavable Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptide-Conjugates.

Proteins conjugated to cyclic cell-penetrating peptides (cCPPs) haAbstractve been shown to be effectively taken up by living cells. Conjugation of proteins to cCPPs in a cleavable manner leads to localization in the cytosol and immediate bioavailability of the protein after uptake. Here we describe how mCherry, a fluorescent protein, can be targeted to a membrane-bound compartment, the nucleus, and a subcellular structure like the actin cytoskeleton after cCPP-mediated uptake into living cells.

Cell-Permeable Nanobodies Allow Dual-Color Super-Resolution Microscopy in Untransfected Living Cells.

Super-resolution microscopy in living cells can be restricted by the availability of small molecule probes, which only exist against few targets and genetically encoded tags. Here, we expand the applicability of live-cell STED by engineering cell-permeable and highly fluorescent nanobodies as intracellular targeting agents. To ensure bright fluorescent signals at low concentrations we used the concept of intramolecular photostabilization by ligating a fluorophore along with the photostabilizer trolox to the nanobody using expressed protein ligation (EPL).

Cellular uptake of large biomolecules enabled by cell-surface-reactive cell-penetrating peptide additives.

Enabling the cellular delivery and cytosolic bioavailability of functional proteins constitutes a major challenge for the life sciences. Here we demonstrate that thiol-reactive arginine-rich peptide additives can enhance the cellular uptake of protein-CPP conjugates in a non-endocytic mode, even at low micromolar concentration. We show that such thiol- or HaloTag-reactive additives can result in covalently anchored CPPs on the cell surface, which are highly effective at co-delivering protein cargoes.

N-Hydroxysuccinimide-Modified Ethynylphosphonamidates Enable the Synthesis of Configurationally Defined Protein Conjugates.

Herein, the application of N-hydroxysuccinimide-modified phosphonamidate building blocks for the incorporation of cysteine-selective ethynylphosphonamidates into lysine residues of proteins, followed by thiol addition with small molecules and proteins, is reported. It is demonstrated that the building blocks significantly lower undesired homo-crosslinking side products that can occur with commonly applied succinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC) under physiological pH. The previously demonstrated stability of the phosphonamidate moiety additionally solves the problem of premature maleimide hydrolysis, which can hamper the efficiency of subsequent thiol addition.

Targeted Subcellular Protein Delivery Using Cleavable Cyclic Cell-Penetrating Peptides.

The delivery of entire functional proteins into living cells is a long-sought goal in science. Cyclic cell-penetrating peptides (cCPPs) have proven themselves to be potent delivery vehicles to carry proteins upon conjugation into the cytosol of living cells with immediate bioavailability via a non-endosomal uptake pathway. With this strategy, we pursue the cytosolic delivery of mCherry, a medium-sized fluorescent protein.

Nanobodies: Chemical Functionalization Strategies and Intracellular Applications.

Nanobodies can be seen as next-generation tools for the recognition and modulation of antigens that are inaccessible to conventional antibodies. Due to their compact structure and high stability, nanobodies see frequent usage in basic research, and their chemical functionalization opens the way towards promising diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this Review, central aspects of nanobody functionalization are presented, together with selected applications.

Cell-permeable nanobodies for targeted immunolabelling and antigen manipulation in living cells.

Functional antibody delivery in living cells would enable the labelling and manipulation of intracellular antigens, which constitutes a long-thought goal in cell biology and medicine. Here we present a modular strategy to create functional cell-permeable nanobodies capable of targeted labelling and manipulation of intracellular antigens in living cells. The cell-permeable nanobodies are formed by the site-specific attachment of intracellularly stable (or cleavable) cyclic arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides to camelid-derived single-chain VHH antibody fragments.

Fluorescent labelling in living cells.

The labelling of proteins with green fluorescent protein enabled the visualization of proteins in living cells for the first time. Since then, much progress has been made in the field. Modern strategies allow the labelling of proteins in live cells through a range of specialized methods with sophisticated chemical probes that show enhanced photophysical properties compared to fluorescent proteins.