Selection and identification of novel peptides specifically targeting human cervical cancer

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer deaths among females in underdeveloped countries. This study aimed to identify several novel cervical cancer-specific targeting peptides (CSPs) to provide new methods for the effective diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. Peptide library screening in vivo was performed on human cervical cancer xenografts with Ph.D.™-12 and C7C phage display peptide libraries. Two specific peptide sequences (GDALFSVPLEVY and KQNLAEG), which were enriched in tumors, were screened, and respectively, named CSP-GD and CSP-KQ through three rounds of biopanning. The in vivo tumor-targeting ability of these peptides was identified by injecting them into mice with cervical cancer xenograft. CSPs were compounded and labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The specificity and affinity of FITC-CSPs were evaluated in human cervical cancer cell lines and tissue microarrays in vitro by immunofluorescent staining. Results showed that FITC-CSP-GD and FITC-CSP-KQ evidently and specifically bound to the cell membrane and cytoplasm of SiHa, ME-180, and C-33A cells in vitro. In human cervical cancer tissue, FITC-CSP-GD and FITC-CSP-KQ strongly targeted human cervical adenocarcinoma and cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues, respectively. A bright FITC signal was located mainly on the cell membrane and cytoplasm of tumor cells. In conclusion, the novel 12-residue peptide CSP-GD and 7-residue peptide CSP-KQ could specifically target human cervical cancer and may have the potential to be used in the diagnosis and targeted therapy of cervical cancer.

Membrane affinity and fluorescent labelling: comparative study of monolayer interaction, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity profile of carboxyfluorescein-conjugated cationic peptides

“…Considering the misleading results, the authors concluded that care should be taken when using labelled bacteria in phagocytosis assays. FITC was also used for specifically targeting of human cervical cancer cells (Liu et al 2018). For this purpose, cancerspecific targeting peptides (CSPs) were labelled with FITC.…”

Silencing long noncoding RNA OGFRP1 inhibits the proliferation and migration of cervical carcinoma cells

“…Although, in recent decades, some progress has been made in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CC, the overall survival rate is still poor, especially metastatic patients. 7 The 5-year survival rate of localized CC patients is 91.5%, while the 5-year survival rate decreases to 57.1% and 17.3% with patients who suffer from regional lymph node metastases and diatant metastases, respectively 8 . Moreover, the incidence of CC is still high, and 80% patients have developed to invasive cancer at the time of diagnosis.…”

“…Moreover, the incidence of CC is still high, and 80% patients have developed to invasive cancer at the time of diagnosis. 8 Therefore, it is urgent to further reveal the molecular mechanism of the occurrence and development of CC and find biomarkers for early diagnosis, metastasis and prognosis, and new effective therapeutic targets.…”

A Screened GPR1 Peptide Exerts Antitumor Effects on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

“…28 Cancer chemotherapy based on peptides has historically attracted considerable interest due to the unique advantages of peptides, such as their low molecular weight, ability to specifically target tumor cells, and low toxicity to normal tissues. 29 Since the approval of sipuleucel-T by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first standard peptide vaccine for prostate tumors, an increasing number of peptides have been tested in many other types of cancer, such as melanoma, glioblastoma, breast cancer, and gastric cancer. [30][31][32] In breast cancer, strategies for peptide chemotherapy have been proposed as vaccines to improve immune efficacy.…”