Identication of peptides that facilitate uptake and cytoplasmic and/or nuclear transport of proteins, DNA and viruses

University of Pittsburgh
posted on 06/29/2009

These peptides have the ability to deliver nucleic acids, amino acids, small molecules, viruses, etc., to specific cell types.

Suggested Uses

Facilitating the uptake of cargo in a target cell;
Inducing apoptosis in cells (e.g., arthritic cells, tumor cells, etc);
Expanding a population of stem cells;
Expanding a population of differentiated cells;
Stimulating the differentiation of a population of stem cells;
Facilitating the integration of AAV DNA into the genome of a cell;
Facilitating the uptake into a cell, secretion from said cell and subsequent reuptake into a neighboring cell of a protein;
Facilitating the growth of defective viruses in culture;
Stimulating the immune response in a subject;
Facilitating uptake of any GST fusion protein into a cell;
Eliciting an immune response in a subject; and
Facilitating the delivery of immunogens (e.g. vaccines), whether protein based, DNA based, vector based or viral based.

Advantages

Less risky than viral vectors

Innovation Details

Detailed Description

The present invention relates to internalizing peptides which facilitate the uptake and transport of cargo into the cytoplasm and nuclei of cells as well as methods for the identification of the peptides, and methods of use for the peptides. The internalizing peptides of the present invention are selected for their ability to efficiently internalize cargo into a wide variety of cell types both in vivo and in vitro.

File Number: 352

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