Development of a Novel Cell-Penetrating Peptide (CPP) For Anti-cancer Therapy
by Young Min
Category: Biology
Abstract – Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis due to late diagnosis and ineffective treatments. Recent studies suggest that ALDH1A1 expression contributes to chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. This study created a new fusion cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) into cancer cells and block ALDH1B1 expression. The BR2-R9 CPP was designed to efficiently deliver siRNA into cancer cells and optimize the CPP-siRNA complex. The study found that a ratio of 30:1 of BR2-R9 CPP to siRNA was most effective in delivering siRNA into PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells and silencing ALDH1B1 expression. The BR2-R9 CPP also improved the sensitivity of PANC-1 cells to doxorubicin chemotherapy. These findings suggest that the BR2- R9 CPP could be a promising treatment for pancreatic cancer, and future studies should focus on optimizing delivery conditions and assessing safety and efficacy in preclinical and clinical settings.