• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.92-101
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• 2020

The cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (cRGD) peptide is well-known as a binding molecule to the integrin α_vβ₃ receptor which is highly expressed on activated endothelial cells and new blood vessels in tumors. Although numerous results have been reported by the usage of cRGD peptide-based ligands for cancer diagnosis and therapy, the distinct mechanisms, and functions of cRGD-integrin binding to cancer cells are still being investigated. In this study, we evaluated the internalization efficacy of different types of cRGD peptides (monomer, dimer and tetramer form) in integrin α_vβ₃ overexpressing cancer cells. Western blot and flow cytometric analysis showed U87MG expresses highly integrin α_vβ₃, whereas CT-26 does not show integrin α_vβ₃ expression. Cytotoxicity assay indicated that all cRGD peptides (0-200 µM) had at least 70-80% of viability in U87MG cells. Fluorescence images showed cRGD dimer peptides have the highest cellular internalization compare to cRGD monomer and cRGD tetramer peptides. Additionally, transmission electron microscope results clearly visualized the endocytic internalization of integrin α_vβ₃ receptors and correlated with confocal microscopic results. These results support the rationale for the use of cRGD dimer peptides for imaging, diagnosis, or therapy of integrin α_vβ₃-rich glioblastoma.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2013

PURPOSE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide coatings on implants by measuring the amount of peptide remaining after installation. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Fluorescent isothiocyanate (FITC)-fixed RGD peptide was coated onto anodized titanium implants (width 4 mm, length 10 mm) using a physical adsorption method (P) or a chemical grafting method (C). Solid Rigid Polyurethane Foam (SRPF) was classified as either hard bone (H) or soft bone (S) according to its density. Two pieces of artificial bone were fixed in a customized jig, and coated implants were installed at the center of the boundary between two pieces of artificial bone. The test groups were classified as: P-H, P-S, C-H, or C-S. After each installation, implants were removed from the SRPF, and the residual amounts and rates of RGD peptide in implants were measured by fluorescence spectrometry. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for the statistical analysis (${\alpha}$=0.05). RESULTS. Peptide-coating was identified by fluorescence microscopy and XPS. Total coating amount was higher for physical adsorption than chemical grafting. The residual rate of peptide was significantly larger in the P-S group than in the other three groups (P<.05). CONCLUSION. The result of this study suggests that coating doses depend on coating method. Residual amounts of RGD peptide were greater for the physical adsorption method than the chemical grafting method.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.355-363
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• 2018

A novel $N_3S_1$ chelate, Pro-Lys-Cys (PKC) to cyclic RGD to radiolabel with $^{99m}Tc$ was conjugated in an effort to decrease the high intestinal accumulation observed for $^{99m}Tc$-labeled PGC-RGD. The target specificity of the resulting PKC-RGD was similar to that of PGC-RGD as determined by a cell binding assay and a competition binding assay. The $^{99m}Tc$ radiolabeling of PKC-RGD resulted in radiochemical yields of 98% under mild conditions at high specific activities. Biodistribution data in normal mice clearly showed a significant decrease in intestinal uptake at 2 h postinjection for the $^{99m}Tc-PKC-c$ (RGDyK) compared to the $^{99m}Tc-GC-c$ (RGDyK) (from $19.65%ID{\cdot}g^{-1}$ to $7.31%ID{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for the GI tract). The $^{99m}Tc-PKC-c$ (RGDyK) biodistribution was also shown by a higher retention of radioactivity in the whole body, but with kidney accumulation over 8-fold higher than observed with $^{99m}Tc-PGC-c$ (RGDyK) at 2 h ($12.62%ID{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for PKC-RGD and $1.54%ID{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for PGC-RGD, respectively). These results show that the biodistribution may be altered especially concerning lipophilicity resulting in renal rather than hepatobiliary excretion. This comparative study made it possible to explore the effects of lipophilicity on the biodistribution of $^{99m}Tc$-labeled c (RGDyK) through the use of different tripeptide $N_3S_1$ chelators. Therefore, $^{99m}Tc-PKC-c$ (RGDyK) may be an attractive alternative for the in vivo imaging of integrin receptors.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2020

Biomaterials are frequently functionalized with Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides to provide cell adhesion sites. In this study, RGD peptides were enzymatically coupled on to the surface of fibroin microspheres. Papain exhibited a strong preference for dansyl phenylalanine for the peptide formation with fibroin microspheres. Thus, RGD1 peptide was designed to carry cysteine to both sides of the sequence, glycine as a spacer and two residues of phenylalanine at the C-terminal (CRGDCGFF). The enzymatic modification facilitated by an increasing amount of substrate and by the presence of organic solvent, dimethylsulfoxide at 25% (v/v). Microspheres coupled with RGD1, showed a significantly different precipitation property and an increased apparent volume, possibly due to the steric hindrance of RGD peptides on the surface. Transmission electron microscopy also confirmed the presence of cysteine residues in RGD1 coupled on the surface of microspheres stained with gold nanoparticles. RGD1-microspheres significantly facilitated the growth of murine fibroblast 3T3 cells even under non-adhesion culture conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.6073-6080
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• 2015

Background: Melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (MDA-7)/interleukin-24 (IL-24), a unique tumor suppressor gene, has killing activity in a broad spectrum of cancer cells. Herein, plasmids producing mda-7 proteins fused to different RGD peptides (full RGD4C and shortened RGD, tRGD) were evaluated for apoptosis induction with a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Hep-G2. The study aim was to improve the apoptosis potency of mda-7 by tethering to RGD peptides. Materials and Methods: Three plasmids including mda-7, mda-7-RGD and mda-7-tRGD genes beside a control vector were transfected into Hep-G2 cells. After 72 hours incubation, cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. In addition, the rate of apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry using PI/annexin staining. To detect early events in apoptosis, 18 hours after transfection, expression of the BAX gene was quantified by real time PCR. Modeling of proteins was also performed to extrapolate possible consequences of RGD modification on their structures and subsequent attachment to receptors. Results and Conclusions: In MTT assays, while all mda-7 forms showed measurable inhibition of proliferation, unmodified mda-7 protein exhibited most significant effect compared to control plasmid (P<0.001). Again, flow cytometry analysis showed a significant apoptosis induction by simple mda-7 gene but not for those RGD-fused mda-7 proteins. These findings were also supported by expression analysis of BAX gene (P<0.001). Protein modelling analysis revealed that tethering RGD at the end of IL-24/Mda7 disrupt attachment to cognate receptor, IL-20R1/IL-20R2. In conclusion, fusion of RGD4C and shortened RGD peptides to carboxyl terminal of mda7, not only reduce apoptosis property in vitro but also disrupt receptor attachment as demonstrated by protein modelling.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2015

Herein we present the synthesis of $^{68}Ga$-labeled gold nanoparticles for in vivo PET imaging. A novel chelator DTPA-Cys was easily prepared from diethylenetriaminepentaacetic dianhydride in high yield. The ${\alpha}_v{\beta}_3$ integrin receptor targeted gold nanoparticle probe was synthesized by using DTPA-Cys, polyethylene glycol and cRGD peptide. $^{68}Ga$ labeling of cRGD conjugated gold nanoparticle was carried out at $40^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. Observed radiochemical yield was more than 75% as determined by radio-TLC and the probe was purified by centrifugation. In vitro stability test showed that 90% of $^{68}Ga$-labeled gold nanoparticle probe was stable in FBS for 1 h. Those results demonstrated that $^{68}Ga$-labeled gold nanoparticle could be used as a potentially useful probe for specific tumor imaging.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.118-122
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• 2016

Integrin ${\alpha}_v{\beta}_3$ plays an important role in the tumor metastases and angiogenesis. Arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) peptide motif binds to the integrin ${\alpha}_v{\beta}_3$. General $^{68}Ga$-labeled cyclic RGD peptides was rapidly eliminated from the circulatory system by renal excretion because of its hydrophilic property. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel $^{68}Ga$-labeled cyclic RGD peptides, which could acquire enhanced PET tumor images with improved pharmacokinetics by adopting biphenyl group between chelator and RGD peptides. $^{68}Ga$-DOTA-2P-c(RGDyK) was demonstrated a 12% higher lipophilicity level than $^{68}Ga$-DOTA-c(RGDyK) as a reference compound. In the animal PET, $^{68}Ga$-DOTA-2P-c(RGDyK) represented relatively lower blood-clearance, and an increased signal to noise ratio compared to $^{68}Ga$-DOTA-c(RGDyK). From these perspective, $^{68}Ga$-DOTA-2P-c(RGDyK) could be a good candidate for in integrin ${\alpha}_v{\beta}_3$-expressed tumor imaging.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.686-695
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• 2006

Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) was reported to regulate transcription of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a central cytokine in the regulation of T-cell responses. This property of ILF2 was well characterized in human and mammals, but little is known in bony fish. In this paper, an ILF2 homologue was cloned and well characterized from Tetraodon nigrovirid is for the further investigation of the function of ILF2 in bony fish. The full-length Tetraodon ILF2 cDNA was 1380 bp in size and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1164 bp that translates into a 387 amino-acid peptide with a molecular weight of 42.9 kDa, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 57 bp, and a 3' UTR of 159 bp containing a poly A tail. The deduced peptide of Tetraodon ILF2 shared an overall identity of 58%~93% with other known ILF2 sequences, and contained two N-glycosylation sites, two N-myristoylation sites, one RGD cell attachment sequence, six protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, one amino-terminal RGG-rich single-stranded RNA-binding domain, and a DZF zinc-finger nucleic acid binding domain, most of which were highly conserved through species compared. Constitutive expression of Tetraodon ILF2 was observed in all tissues examined, including gill, gut, head kidney, spleen, liver, brain and heart. The highest expression was detected in heart, followed by liver, head kidney and brain. Stimulation with LPS did not significantly alter the expression of Tetraodon ILF2. Gene organization analysis showed that the Tetraodon ILF2 gene have fifteen exons, one more than other known ILF2 genes in human and mouse. Genes up- and down-stream from the Tetraodon ILF2 were Rpa12, Peroxin-11b, Smad4, Snapap and Txnip homologue, which were different from that in human and mouse.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2017

Herein we report an efficient radiolabeling method based on a rapid condensation reaction between N-terminal cysteine and 2-cyanobenzothiazole (CBT). Radioiodination of 2-cyano-6-hydroxybenzothiazole 2 was carried out using chloramine-T to give $^{125}I$-labeled CBT ([$^{125}I$]1) with a high radiochemical yield ($90{\pm}6%$ isolated yield, n=3) and radiochemical purity (>99%). To evaluate the radiolabeling efficiency of $^{125}I$-labeled CBT, model compounds, L-cysteine and N-terminal cysteine conjugated cRGD peptide were reacted with [$^{125}I$]1 under mild conditions. The radiolabeling reactions rapidly provided the $^{125}I$-labeled products [$^{125}I$]5 and [$^{125}I$]6 with excellent radiochemical yields and radiochemical purity. Therefore, we demonstrate that [$^{125}I$]1 will be a useful prosthetic group for radioactive iodine labeling of N-terminal cysteine bearing biomolecules.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.301-306
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• 2004

Statement of problem. Fibronectin mediates its biological effects by binding to integrins on cell membranes through a consensus site including the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence within tenth type III module. Purpose. The purpose of our study was to investigate the adsorption affinity of human recombinant fibronectin peptide (hFNIII 9-10) to titanium and to investigate the effect of the surrounding ionic composition on the adsorption process. Material and methods. As for evaluating the affinity of hFNIII 9-10 to Ti, titanium disks were incubated in 40, 80 and $120{\mu}g/ml$ hFNIII 9-10 solution at $37^{\circ}C$ overnight, repectively. As for evaluating the effect of surrounding ionic concentration, hFNIII 9-10 was dissolved in distilled water, phosphate buffered saline and RPMI 1640. Optical density (O.D.) was measured in ELISA reader. Results. The results were as follows; 1. The adsorption of hFNIII 9-10 showed significantly highest mean optical density (O.D.) value in $80{\mu}g/ml$. 2. The difference of ionic composition in DW, PBS and RPMI did not influence the adsorption amount of hFNIII 9-10.