Structural flexibility of apolipoprotein E-derived arginine-rich peptides improves their cell penetration capability

Amphipathic arginine-rich peptide, A2-17, exhibits moderate perturbation of lipid membranes and the highest cell penetration among its structural isomers. We investigated the direct cell-membrane penetration mechanism of the A2-17 peptide. We designed structurally constrained versions of A2-17, stapled (StpA2-17) and stitched (StchA2-17), whose -helical conformations were stabilized by chemical crosslinking. Circular dichroism confirmed that StpA2-17 and StchA2-17 had higher -helix content than A2-17 in aqueous solution. Upon liposome binding, only A2-17 exhibited a coil-to-helix transition. Confocal microscopy revealed that A2-17 had higher cell penetration efficiency than StpA2-17 in HeLa cells. Partitioning into lipid membranes was more prominent for StchA2-17 than for A2-17 or StpA2-17; StchA2-17 remained on the cell membrane without cell penetration. Tryptophan fluorescence analysis suggested that A2-17 and its analogs had similar membrane-insertion positions between the interface and hydrophobic core. Atomic force microscopy demonstrated that A2-17 reduced the mechanical rigidity of liposomes to a greater extent than StpA2-17 and StchA2-17. Finally, electrophysiological analysis showed that A2-17 induced a higher charge influx through transient pores in a planer lipid bilayer than StpA2-17 and StchA2-17. These findings indicate that structural flexibility, which enables diverse conformations of A2-17, leads to a membrane perturbation mode that contributes to cell membrane penetration.