Generic placeholder image

Current Cancer Drug Targets

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1568-0096
ISSN (Online): 1873-5576

Identification of VEGFR2-Binding Peptides Using High Throughput Bacterial Display Methods and Functional Assessment

Author(s): Kefeng Pu, Lihua Yuan, Lisha Chen, Anxin Wang, Xuan Zhou, Hailu Zhang and Yimin Zhu

Volume 15, Issue 2, 2015

Page: [158 - 170] Pages: 13

DOI: 10.2174/156800961502150320112339

Price: $65

Abstract

The signal transduction pathway initiated by vascular endothelial growth factor-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGF-VEGFR2) plays an important role in the angiogenesis of tumors. The effective antagonists of VEGFR2 would behave as potent drugs for the treatment of malignant cancers. In our study, specific binding peptides with high affinity to VEGFR2 were obtained through bacterial display technology. Conserved motif (FF/YEXWGVK) among those peptide sequences was discovered. One of the selected peptides, VRBP1 (YDGNSFYEMWGVKPASES) was identified by screening the biased bacterial peptide library and its physiochemical feature was further characterized. The results of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay indicated that the dissociation constant (KD) value of VRBP1 was 228.3 nM and this peptide competed with VEGF binding to VEGFR2. Particles conjugated with VRBP1 could recognize the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) which express VEGFR2 on the surface. Further therapeutic effect of VRBP1 was examined by in vivo experiments. VRBP1 could result in a significant decrease in tumor size of H460 xenografts. The results from the immunohistochemical assay showed that CD31 positive signals in VRBP1-treated group were fewer than those in the control ones. These data highlighted the potential of VEGFR2-binding peptides as effective molecules for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Keywords: Angiogenesis, bacterial surface display, cancer diagnosis, cancer therapy, peptide, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2).

Graphical Abstract

Rights & Permissions Print Export Cite as
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy