Applications of pHLIP Technology for Cancer Imaging and Therapy

Authors

Linden C. Wyatt, University of Rhode Island
Jason S. Lewis, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Oleg A. Andreev, University of Rhode Island
Yana K. Reshetnyak, University of Rhode Island
Donald M. Engelman, Yale University

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

7-1-2017

Abstract

Acidity is a biomarker of cancer that is not subject to the blunting clonal selection effects that reduce the efficacy of other biomarker technologies, such as antibody targeting. The pH (low) insertion peptides (pHLIP®s) provide new opportunities for targeting acidic tissues. Through the physical mechanism of membrane-associated folding, pHLIPs are triggered by the acidic microenvironment to insert and span the membranes of tumor cells. The pHLIP platform can be applied to imaging acidic tissues, delivering cell-permeable and impermeable molecules to the cytoplasm, and promoting the cellular uptake of nanoparticles. Since acidosis is a hallmark of tumor development, progression, and aggressiveness, the pHLIP technology may prove useful in targeting cancer cells and metastases for tumor diagnosis, imaging, and therapy.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Trends in Biotechnology

Volume

35

Issue

7

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Wyatt, Linden C., Jason S. Lewis, Oleg A. Andreev, Yana K. Reshetnyak, and Donald M. Engelman. "Applications of pHLIP Technology for Cancer Imaging and Therapy." Trends in Biotechnology 35, 7 (2017): 653-664. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.03.014.