Protein transduction technology.

With the elucidation of the human genome, exhaustive analysis of genomic data related to gene transcription and the structure and function of translated protein products has progressed rapidly. Delivery of proteins and their functional domains or inhibitory peptides directly into the cell is ideal to use this protein information and analyze associated physiological functions. Protein transduction technology, which controls cell function via direct delivery of a desired protein into the cell, involves fusing the protein with a special peptide sequence consisting of 10-20 amino acids, referred to as the protein transduction domain. The recent discovery that the protein transduction domain can also be inserted into various macromolecules heightens expectations in terms of development of novel advanced experimental tools and clinical reagents.