Preparation and Assessment of Self-Immolative Linkers for Therapeutic Bioconjugates with Amino- and Hydroxyl-Containing Cargoes.

A series of self-immolative linkers containing a thiol-reactive group at one end and a hydroxyl- or amine-reactive group at the other were prepared. The utility of these reagents for preparations of bioconjugates was explored by reacting the linkers with appropriately functionalized model drugs and peptides. Degradation studies of a series of conjugates with different linkers reveal that the structure of the linkers has a significant impact on their stability.

General Approach To Determine Disulfide Connectivity in Cysteine-Rich Peptides by Sequential Alkylation on Solid Phase and Mass Spectrometry.

Within the field of bioprospecting, disulfide-rich peptides are a promising group of compounds that has the potential to produce important leads for new pharmaceuticals. The disulfide bridges stabilize the tertiary structure of the peptides and often make them superior drug candidates to linear peptides. However, determination of disulfide connectivity in peptides with many disulfide bridges has proven to be laborious and general methods are lacking. This study presents a general approach for structure elucidation of disulfide-rich peptides. The method features sequential reduction and alkylation of a peptide on solid phase combined with sequencing of the fully alkylated peptide by tandem mass spectrometry. Subsequently, the disulfide connectivity is assigned on the basis of the determined alkylation pattern. The presented method is especially suitable for peptides that are prone to disulfide scrambling or are unstable in solution with partly reduced bridges. Additionally, the use of small amounts of peptide in the lowest nmol range makes the method ideal for structure elucidation of unknown peptides from the bioprospecting process. This study successfully demonstrates the new method for seven different peptides with two to four disulfide bridges. Two peptides with previous contradicting publications, µ-conotoxin KIIA and hepcidin-25, are included, and their disulfide connectivity is confirmed in accordance with the latest published results.

Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 induce complete regression and protective immune response in experimental murine colorectal cancer.

Oncolytic peptides represent a novel, promising cancer treatment strategy with activity in a broad spectrum of cancer entities, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Cancer cells are killed by immunogenic cell death, causing long-lasting anticancer immune responses, a feature of particular interest in non-immunogenic CRC. Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 were administered by intratumoral injection in subcutaneous tumors established from murine CRC cell lines CT26 and MC38, and complete regression was obtained in the majority of animals. When cured animals were rechallenged by splenic injection of tumor cells, 1/23 animals developed liver metastases, compared to 19/22 naïve animals. Treatment with both peptides was well tolerated, but monitoring post-injection hemodynamic parameters in rats, less extensive changes were observed with DTT-205 than DTT-304, favoring DTT-205 for future drug development. DTT-205 was subsequently shown to have strong in vitro activity in a panel of 33 cancer cell lines. In conclusion, both peptides exerted a strong inhibitory effect in two immunocompetent CRC models and induced a systemic effect preventing development of liver metastases upon splenic rechallenge. If a similar effect could be obtained in humans, these drugs would be of particular interest for combinatory treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic CRC.

Selective Intracellular Delivery of Thiolated Cargo to Tumor and Neovasculature Cells Using Histidine-Rich Peptides as Vectors.

Short histidine-rich peptides could serve as novel activatable vectors for delivering cytotoxic payloads to tumor and neovasculature cells. This explorative study reports preliminary results showing that zinc ions, which are found in elevated levels at neovasculature sites, can trigger the intracellular delivery of a short antimicrobial peptide when conjugated to a histidine-rich peptide through a disulfide bond. The importance of exofacial thiols in the mode of action of these disulfide-linked conjugates is also shown.

Oncolysis with DTT-205 and DTT-304 generates immunological memory in cured animals.

Oncolytic peptides and peptidomimetics are being optimized for the treatment of cancer by selecting agents with high cytotoxic potential to kill a maximum of tumor cells as well as the capacity to trigger anticancer immune responses and hence to achieve long-term effects beyond therapeutic discontinuation. Here, we report on the characterization of two novel oncolytic peptides, DTT-205 and DTT-304 that both selectively enrich in the lysosomal compartment of cancer cells yet differ to some extent in their cytotoxic mode of action. While DTT-304 can trigger the aggregation of RIP3 in ripoptosomes, coupled to the phosphorylation of MLKL by RIP3, DTT-205 fails to activate RIP3. Accordingly, knockout of either RIP3 or MLKL caused partial resistance against cell killing by DTT-304 but not DTT-205. In contrast, both agents shared common features in other aspects of pro-death signaling in the sense that their cytotoxic effects were strongly inhibited by both serum and antioxidants, partially reduced by lysosomal inhibition with bafilomycin A1 or double knockout of Bax and Bak, yet totally refractory to caspase inhibition. Both DTT-304 and DTT-205 caused the exposure of calreticulin at the cell surface, as well as the release of HMGB1 from the cells. Mice bearing established subcutaneous cancers could be cured by local injection of DTT-205 or DTT-304, and this effect depended on T lymphocytes, as it led to the establishment of a long-term memory response against tumor-associated antigens. Thus, mice that had been cured from cancer by the administration of DTT compounds were refractory against rechallenge with the same cancer type several months after the disappearance of the primary lesion. In summary, DTT-205 and DTT-304 both have the capacity to induce immunotherapeutic oncolysis.

Iterative Design and in Vivo Evaluation of an Oncolytic Antilymphoma Peptide.

Oncolytic peptides represent a promising new strategy within the field of cancer immunotherapy. Here we describe the systematic design and evaluation of short antilymphoma peptides within this paradigm. The peptides were tested in vitro and in vivo to identify a lead compound for further evaluation as novel oncolytic immunotherapeutic. In vitro tests revealed peptides with high activity against several lymphoma types and low cytotoxicity toward normal cells. Treated lymphoma cells exhibited a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential that resulted in an irreversible disintegration of their plasma membranes. No caspase activation or ultrastructural features of apoptotic cell death were observed. One of these peptides, 11, was shown to induce complete tumor regression and protective immunity following intralesional treatment of murine A20 B-lymphomas. Due to its selectivity for lymphoma cells and its ability to induce tumor-specific immune responses, 11 has the potential to be used in intralesional treatment of accessible lymphoma tumors.