Modulation of muscle contraction by a cell-permeable peptide

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Modulation of muscle contraction by a cell-permeable peptide
Creators Name:	Tünnemann, G., Karczewski, P., Haase, H., Cardoso, M.C. and Morano, I.
Abstract:	In contrast to immortal cell lines, primary cells are hardly susceptible to intracellular delivery methods such as transfection. In this study, we evaluated the direct delivery of several cell-permeable peptides under noninvasive conditions into living primary adult rat cardiomyocytes. We specifically monitored the functional effects of a cell-permeable peptide containing the 15 amino acid N-terminal peptide from human ventricular light chain-1 (VLC-1) on contraction and intracellular Ca2+ signals after electrical stimulation in primary adult cardiomyocytes. The transducible VLC-1 variant was taken up by cardiomyocytes within 5 min with more than 95% efficiency and localized to sarcomeric structures. Analysis of the functional effects of the cell-permeable VLC-1 revealed an enhancement of the intrinsic contractility of cardiomyocytes without affecting the intracellular Ca2+. Therefore, peptide transduction mediated by cell-penetrating peptides represents not only a unique strategy to enhance heart muscle function with no secondary effect on intracellular Ca2+ but also an invaluable tool for the modulation and manipulation of protein interactions in general and in primary cells.
Keywords:	Ventricular Light Chain-1 (VLC-1), Cell Penetrating Peptide (CPP), Peptide Transduction, Cardiomyocytes, Drug Delivery, Animals, Rats
Source:	Journal of Molecular Medicine
ISSN:	0946-2716
Publisher:	Springer
Volume:	85
Number:	12
Page Range:	1405-1412
Date:	December 2007
Additional Information:	The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-007-0238-6
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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