自组装肽纳米技术因其结构规整有序、功能多样而备受关注。现有的大多数自组装肽只有在特定条件下才能形成具有特定结构的聚集体,并且它们的组装时间相对较长。它们具有良好的生物相容性但没有免疫原性。为了优化它,设计了一种名为DRF3的自组装肽。它包含亲水和疏水表面,使用两个N端精氨酸,亮氨酸,和两个c端天冬氨酸和谷氨酸。同时,肽的c末端被酰胺化,所以肽段相互连接以增加多样性。其表征,生物相容性,对抗原的控释作用,免疫细胞募集能力,这里检查了抗肿瘤特性。刚果红/苯胺蓝染色显示肽水凝胶DRF3可以在PBS中立即凝胶化。通过圆二色性光谱和红外光谱证实了DRF3的稳定的β-折叠二级结构。低温扫描电子显微镜的观察结果,透射电子显微镜,原子力显微镜显示DRF3在PBS中形成了纳米泡状结构,这些结构相互交错形成有序的三维纳米纤维结构。同时,DRF3表现出优异的生物相容性,可以持续缓慢地释放抗原,招募树突状细胞并促进树突状细胞(DCs)的体外成熟。此外,DRF3对透明肾细胞癌(786-0)有较强的抑制作用。这些结果为肽水凝胶在生物医学和临床前试验中的应用提供了可靠的依据。
Self-assembly peptide nanotechnology has attracted much attention due to its regular and orderly structure and diverse functions. Most of the existing self-assembly peptides can form aggregates with specific structures only under specific conditions and their assembly time is relatively long. They have good biocompatibility but no immunogenicity. To optimize it, a self-assembly peptide named DRF3 was designed. It contains a hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface, using two N-terminal arginines, leucine, and two c-terminal aspartate and glutamic acid. Meanwhile, the c-terminal of the peptide was amidated, so that peptide segments were interconnected to increase diversity. Its characterization, biocompatibility, controlled release effect on antigen, immune cell recruitment ability, and antitumor properties were examined here. Congo red/aniline blue staining revealed that peptide hydrogel DRF3 could be immediately gelled in PBS. The stable β-sheet secondary structure of DRF3 was confirmed by circular dichroism spectrum and IR spectra. The observation results of cryo-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy demonstrated that DRF3 formed nanotubule-like and vesicular structures in PBS, and these structures interlaced with each other to form ordered three-dimensional nanofiber structures. Meanwhile, DRF3 showed excellent biocompatibility, could sustainably and slowly release antigens, recruit dendritic cells and promote the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro. In addition, DRF3 has a strong inhibitory effect on clear renal cell carcinoma (786-0). These results provide a reliable basis for the application of peptide hydrogels in biomedical and preclinical trials.