Development of an oligoarginine peptide displaying rapid cell penetration for improved intestinal absorption

Abstract

Arginine-rich peptides, including oligoarginines (Rn, n=7-12) are cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) and are useful for the intracellular delivery of membrane-impermeable substances. Endocytosed arginine-rich peptides can become trapped in endosomes, and the avoidance of endosomal retention is necessary for achieving effective cytosolic translocation. Our group has succeeded in enhancing the cellular uptake of oligoarginines by introducing short hydrophobic penetration accelerating sequences (Pas). The effectiveness of a Pas segment in improving the oligoarginine-mediated intracellular delivery of a biofunctional peptide was demonstrated through the efficient inhibition of glioma cell growth by a p53 C-terminal-derived retro-inverso peptide. The CPPs were expected to increase the penetration efficiency of low-permeability drugs through the intestinal epithelial cell layer into blood. Drugs conjugated to oligoarginines via a chemically stable linker tend to be retained in the negatively charged intracellular compartment due to the strongly cationic peptides. Our group has proposed the use of a self-cleavable linker strategy that effectively releases the drugs from the oligoarginine peptide. Chemical-triggered self-cleavage produces the parent drug via intramolecular imide formation under physiological conditions. The designed model drug-oligoarginine conjugates were converted with the half-life (t 1/2) values of 9-100 min. Conjugates possessing a short t 1/2 of 9-10 min improved the transport rate of the parent model drug in a Caco-2 monolayer permeation assay. The Pas attachment to the oligoarginine was also found to be effective in this permeation assay. The Pas attachment may provide a new platform for facilitating arginine-rich CPP-mediated cargo transport. © 2014 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.