Self-assembly Of Amphiphilic Peptides For Recognizing High Furin-expressing Cancer Cells

Self-assembled nanostructures of amphiphilic peptides have a wide range of applications in bioimaging and delivery system.In this study,we design and synthesize a biocompatible amphiphilic peptide(C-3)consisting of a RVRRFFF sequence and a NBD fluorophore that can self-assemble into stable micelles for specifically detecting furin,a kind of proprotein convertase with promoting tumor progression.The self-assembly of C-3 with ?-sheet nanostructure is capable of rapid and specific response to furin in only 5 min in aqueous solution due to the existence of RVRR motif in C-3 molecule.The C-3 nanostructures thus can selectively recognize furin high expressed cancer cells,like MDA-MB-231 cells,a kind of human breast cancer cells,from normal cells.Furthermore,the C-3 self-assembly can stay in living cells for a long time and are capable of durable detection of intracellular furin,being good for tracer analysis.To our knowledge,this is the first example of self-assembly of soluble amphiphilic peptide that can selectively detection of furin in furin high expressed live cells.