Crotamine: a novel cell-penetrating polypeptide nanocarrier with potential anti-cancer and biotechnological applications.

Abstract

Crotamine is a basic, 42-residue polypeptide derived from snake venom that has been shown to possess cell-penetrating properties. Crotamine forms nanoparticles with a variety of DNA and RNA molecules, and crotamine-plasmid DNA nanoparticles are selectively delivered into actively proliferating cells in culture or in mice. As such, these nanoparticles could form the basis for a nucleic acid drug-delivery system. Here we describe the preparation, purification, and biochemical and biophysical analysis of venom-derived, recombinant, chemically synthesized, and fluorescent-labeled crotamine; the formation and characterization of crotamine-DNA and -RNA nanoparticles; and the delivery of these nanoparticles into cells and animals.

• Authors: Mirian A F Hayashi, Eduardo B Oliveira, Irina Kerkis, Richard L Karpel
• Journal: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) (Methods Mol Biol) Vol. 906 Pg. 337-52 ( 2012) ISSN: 1940-6029 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22791447 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Cell-Penetrating Peptides
• Crotalid Venoms
• Nanoconjugates
• Nucleic Acids
• Recombinant Proteins
• crotamine

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Animals
• Base Sequence
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell-Penetrating Peptides (chemistry, genetics, isolation & purification)
• Crotalid Venoms (chemistry, genetics, isolation & purification)
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Gene Transfer Techniques
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Nanoconjugates (chemistry)
• Neoplasms (therapy)
• Nucleic Acids (chemistry)
• Particle Size
• Recombinant Proteins (chemistry, genetics, isolation & purification)
• Transfection