Proline-rich, amphipathic cell-penetrating peptides.

Proline-rich peptides are a chemically and structurally diverse family of cell-penetrating vectors characterised by the presence of pyrrolidine rings from prolines. Amphipathic Pro-rich peptides are particularly effective, demonstrating efficient cellular uptake and non-cytotoxicity. Derivatives with hydrophobic moieties, such as fatty acids or silaproline, have shown highly improved internalisation efficiency; an all D-amino acid version of the CPP SAP was shown to be completely protease resistant and was evaluated in a preliminary in vivo study. CD and TEM studies regarding the self-assembly properties of this family of peptides highlight the possible role of aggregated species in the internalisation process. Finally, these CPPs were shown to be internalised via caveolae or lipid-rafts mediated endocytosis, which circumvents the lysosomal route of degradation.