• Publisher-DOI

Herein, we present the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel integrin-targeting molecular hybrids combining RGD peptides and a potent cytotoxin presented on dextran polysaccharides. Based on an aglycosylated Fc as a centerpiece, endosomal-cleavable cytotoxic agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) and dextran as multimerization site were covalently connected by two bioorthogonal enzyme-mediated reactions site-specifically. Decoration of dextran with cyclic RGD peptides, introduced by copper “click” reaction, resulted in the final constructs with the potential to kill integrin-overexpressing tumor cells. We found that these modifications had little impact on the stability of the Fc scaffold and the RGD-bearing construct showed good binding properties of αvβ3-expressing U87MG cells. Furthermore, the construct showed a remarkable antiproliferative activity. These results demonstrate the general capability of our design to provoke receptor-mediated endocytosis upon binding to the cellular surface, followed by endosomal cleavage of the linkage between Fc-dextran and MMAE and its subsequent release. Our approach opens new avenues to transcribe small molecule binders into tailor-made multimeric molecular hybrids with antitumor potential.

Keywords: integrins, RGD peptide, dextran, drug delivery and targeting, multimerization