TAT-RasGAP317-326 kills cells by targeting inner-leaflet-enriched phospholipids

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Abstract

TAT-RasGAP317-326 is a cell-penetrating peptide-based construct with anticancer and antimicrobial activities. This peptide kills a subset of cancer cells in a manner that does not involve known programmed cell death pathways. Here we have elucidated the mode of action allowing TAT-RasGAP317-326 to kill cells. This peptide binds and disrupts artificial membranes containing lipids typically enriched in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, such as phosphatidylinositol-bisphosphate (PIP2) and phosphatidylserine (PS). Decreasing the amounts of PIP2 in cells renders them more resistant to TAT-RasGAP317-326, while reducing the ability of cells to repair their plasma membrane makes them more sensitive to the peptide. The W317A TAT-RasGAP317-326 point mutant, known to have impaired killing activities, has reduced abilities to bind and permeabilize PIP2- and PS-containing membranes and to translocate through biomembranes, presumably because of a higher propensity to adopt an α-helical state. This work shows that TAT-RasGAP317-326 kills cells via a form of necrosis that relies on the physical disruption of the plasma membrane once the peptide targets specific phospholipids found on the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane.

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APA

Serulla, M., Ichim, G., Stojceski, F., Grasso, G., Afonin, S., Heulot, M., … Widmann, C. (2020). TAT-RasGAP317-326 kills cells by targeting inner-leaflet-enriched phospholipids. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(50), 31871–31881. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014108117

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