Biomedical subjects

Garth A Kinberger

Publications and source records attributed to Garth A Kinberger.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Evaluation of basic amphipathic peptides for cellular delivery of antisense peptide nucleic acids.

Cellular permeation peptides have been used successfully for the delivery of a variety of cargoes across cellular membranes, including large hydrophilic biomolecules such as proteins, oligonucleotides, or plasmid DNA. For the present work, a series of short amphipathic peptides was designed to elucidate the structural requirements for efficient and nontoxic delivery of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs). On the basis of an idealized alpha-helical structure, the helical parameters were modulated systematically to yield peptides within a certain range of hydrophobicity and amphipathicity. The corresponding PNA conjugates were synthesized and characterized in terms of secondary structure, enzymatic stability, and antisense activity. The study revealed correlations between the physicochemical and biophysical properties of the conjugates and their biological activity and led to the development of potent peptide vectors for the cellular delivery of antisense PNAs. Two representative compounds were radiolabeled and evaluated for their biodistribution in healthy mice.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Fe(III)-binding collagen mimetics.

The synthesis and characterization of hydroxamic acid containing single-chain and TRIS-assembled (where TRIS is tris(carboxyethoxymethyl)aminomethane) collagen mimetics are reported. We have engineered an Fe(III)-binding domain by placing a hydroxamic acid group at the C termini of collagen mimetic chains composed of the Gly-Pro-NLeu sequence. The circular dichroism spectra and thermal denaturation studies show an enhancement in triple-helical thermal stability upon the addition of Fe(III) for the TRIS-assembled structure. No triple-helical structure was detected for the single-chain collagen mimetic. From the absorbance shown in the UV-vis spectra, we believe that the thermal stabilization of the triple helix is the direct result of a coordination complex between Fe(III) and the hydroxamate groups tethered to the C termini of the collagen mimetic peptide chains.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2005

Structure-activity relationship study on a simple cationic peptide motif for cellular delivery of antisense peptide nucleic acid.

Improving cellular uptake and biodistribution remains one of the major obstacles for a successful and broad application of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) as antisense therapeutics. Recently, we reported the identification and functional characterization of an antisense PNA, which redirects splicing of murine CD40 pre-mRNA. In this context, it was discovered that a simple octa(l-lysine) peptide covalently linked to the PNA is capable of promoting free uptake of the conjugate into BCL1 cells as well as primary murine macrophages. On the basis of this peptide motif, the present study aimed at identifying the structural features, which define effective peptide carriers for cellular delivery of PNA. While the structure-activity relationship study revealed some clear correlations, only a few modifications actually led to an overall improvement as compared to the parent octa(l-lysine) conjugate. In a preliminary PK/tissue distribution study in healthy mice, the parent conjugate exhibited relatively broad tissue distribution and only modest elimination via excretion within the time frame of the study.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Collagen mimetic dendrimers.

The synthesis of single-chain, scaffold (TRIS)- and dendrimer-assembled collagen mimetics (both Gly-Pro-Nleu and Gly-Nleu-Pro sequences) is reported. From the CD spectra and the thermal denaturation studies it can be readily seen that mimetics prepared from the Gly-Nleu-Pro sequence form more thermally stable triple helices than the Gly-Pro-Nleu sequence. Furthermore, the 162-residue collagen mimetic dendrimers exhibit enhanced triple helical stability compared to equivalent scaffold-terminated structures by a substantial increase in the melting temperature in H2O and 2:1 EG/H2O. The concentration dependence for the melting transition was measured which determined that the stabilization effect arises from the intramolecular clustering of the triple helical arrays about the core structure. This ensemble excludes solvent from the interior portion of the array which stabilizes the triple helical bundle.

Biomimetic Materials↗