After their discovery in the nineties, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed to promote an efficient cellular delivery of cargoes through the plasma membrane1,2. CPPs are usually short peptides, generally 8 to 30 amino acids, having a wide variety of origins. They were first defined as "direct-translocating" carriers, meaning they were able to cross the plasma membrane and to transfer a cargo into cells independently of any endocytotic pathway neither energy requirement nor receptor involvement. However, further investigations revealed that these first observations mainly came from fluorescence overestimation due to the experimental artefact and/or to fixation protocols using methanol3. Nowadays, it is widely accepted that CPP uptake takes place by both endocytosis and energy-independent translocation4,5,6,7 depending on different parameters such as the nature of cargo, the used link between CPP and cargo, the studied cell line, etc.
CPPs can be used as transfection agents according to two strategies, either involving a chemical link (covalent strategy) or electrostatic/hydrophobic interactions (non-covalent strategy) between the CPP and its cargo8,9,10,11. Although both strategies have shown their efficiency in the cell transfer of several cargoes, the understanding of the mechanism of internalization by CPPs is still under controversy and the balance between endocytosis pathways or direct penetration is still difficult to measure12,13. Although a set of experimental tools and strategies are available to clearly address the involvement of endocytic processes, the direct translocation seems, however, more difficult to characterize since it implies more discrete interactions with plasma membrane components. Biological membranes are usually composed of numerous components, from phospholipids to membrane proteins, which might vary according to the cellular type and/or the environment (stress conditions, cell division, etc.). This diversity of composition, and consequently the absence of a universal cellular membrane model does not enable studies in a single way. However, to circumvent these limitations step-by-step approaches were developed with artificial membrane or membrane extracts. From small unilamellar vesicles to monolayer approaches, every model was clearly pertinent to answer specific questions14,15. Among them, large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) constitute an appropriate membrane mimicking model to study peptide/membrane interactions as being a key point in the internalization process.
In this context, the following protocol describes the investigation of the effects of peptides and peptide/membrane interactions on LUVs integrity through the monitoring of both an anionic fluorescent dye and its corresponding poly-cationic quencher encapsulated in liposomes. This tool is used to study CPP/membrane interactions in order to understand whether they are able to perform a direct membrane translocation. Although usually applied to compare different membrane-interacting peptides, this LUV fluorescence leakage assay could also be used for investigating both CPPs-cargo conjugates (covalent strategy) and CPP:cargo complexes (non-covalent strategy).
The present protocol will hence be first exemplified with the recently developed tryptophan (W)- and arginine (R)-rich Amphipathic Peptides (WRAP)16. WRAP is able to form peptide-based nanoparticles to rapidly and efficiently deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) in several cell lines16. The fluorescence leakage properties of WRAP peptide alone or siRNA-loaded WRAP-based nanoparticles were monitored to characterize their mechanism of cellular internalization. We showed that their mechanism of internalization mainly involved direct translocation7. In a second example, the WRAP peptide was covalently conjugated to the protein/protein interfering peptide iCAL36 (WRAP-iCAL36)17 and its ability to destabilize membranes was compared in a fluorescence leakage assay to iCAL36 coupled to Penetratin18 (Penetratin-iCAL36), another CPP.
Finally, the advantages and limitations of the method will be discussed both from a technological point of view and with respect to biological relevance.