Mass spectrometric detection of targeting peptide bioconjugation to Red clover necrotic mosaic virus.

Plant virus nanoparticle (PVN) formulations constructed from Red clover necrotic mosaic virus by drug infusion and targeting peptide conjugation can be employed as drug delivery tools. In this investigation, we studied the cross-linked structures formed by application of sulfosuccinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (sSMCC) and succinimidyl-[(N-maleimidopropionamido)-hexaethylene glycol] ester (SMPEG) as heterobifunctional linkers in the bioconjugation process. The plant virus formulations using several targeting peptides cross-linked to the plant virus capsid were characterized by LC/MS(E) analysis, which produced at least 69% sequence coverage using trypsin and chymotrypsin digestion. The results showed evidence for several types of modification located in three domains of the capsid protein. Extensive linker modifications on lysines or cysteines were detected in all the domains, including both intended peptide-capsid cross-links and unintended intracapsid cross-links. Surprisingly, the most extensive peptide modification was observed in the R domain, which is thought to be quite inaccessible to peptides and cross-linking reagents in solution, since it is on the interior of the virus. These results show that heterobifunctional linkers may not be the most efficient method for attachment of peptides to plant virus capsids. As an alternative conjugation strategy, maleimide peptides were used to conjugate with the virus in a one-step reaction. Analysis by LC/MS(E) showed that these one-step maleimide coupling reactions were more specific, such as modifications of C154 and to a lesser extent C267, and provide a means for achieving more effective PVN formulations.

The Red clover necrotic mosaic virus capsid as a multifunctional cell targeting plant viral nanoparticle.

Multifunctional nanoparticles hold promise as the next generation of therapeutic delivery and imaging agents. Nanoparticles comprising many types of materials are being tested for this purpose, including plant viral capsids. It has been found that Red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV) can be loaded with significant amounts of therapeutic molecules with molecular weights of 600 or even greater. Formulation of RCNMV into a plant viral nanoparticle (PVN) involves the loading of cargo and attachment of peptides. In this study, we show that targeting peptides (less than 16 amino acids) can be conjugated to the capsid using the heterobifunctional chemical linker sulfosuccinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (Sulfo-SMCC). The uptake of both native RCNMV capsids and peptide-conjugated RCNMV was tested in the HeLa cell line for peptides with and without fluorescent labels. Uptake of RCNMV conjugate with a CD46 targeting peptide was monitored by flow cytometry. When formulated PVNs loaded with doxorubicin and armed with a targeting peptide were delivered to HeLa cells, a cytotoxic effect was observed. The ability to modify RCNMV for specific cell targeting and cargo delivery offers a method for the intracellular delivery of reagents for research assays as well as diagnostic and therapeutic applications.