Direct visualization by confocal fluorescent microscopy of the permeation of myristoylated peptides through the cell membrane.

To study the permeability through the cellular membrane of synthetic peptides containing an hydrophobic moiety, we used a 13-mer myristoylated peptide labeled with a N-terminal fluorescent probe. After 2 h of incubation, the subcellular distribution was analyzed in intact chromaffin cells by confocal fluorescent microscopy. Our results demonstrate that myristoylated peptides diffuse into intact cells, showing an heterogeneous distribution, but they do not reach the cellular nucleous, at least during the time range used.