Conformation of complexed fusogenic peptides and an antisense oligonucleotide in solution and in the presence of micelles

摘要

The elucidation of the mechanism of the translocation of antigenic peptides and antisense oligonucleotides(ODN)is an important step in evaluating their therapeautic applications.Antisense oligonucleotides are short stretches of nucleic acids designed to hybridize to complementary mRNA sequences and prevent translation of the targeted mRNA.ODN-being hydrophilic and negatively charged molecules-are not able to cross the cellular membranes.Cationic peptides as well as fusion peptides of viral origin have been considered as possible candidates to deliver molecules into the cytosol.The complete mechanism of the translocation event is still mostly unknown.In order to understand the details of translocation process,circular dichroism(CD)studies on carrier peptides,ODN and on their complexes were performed in water and in the presence of lysolipid micelles.