Carnosine Peptide Forms Tunable Hydrogels, Shows Selective Anti-Cancer Action

Peptide hydrogels are emerging as versatile biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering due to their biocompatibility and tunable properties. However, developing peptide-based materials with both controlled physical characteristics and specific biological activity, such as anti-cancer effects, remains a significant challenge. This study addresses the need for novel self-assembling peptide systems that can form tunable hydrogels and exhibit selective toxicity towards cancer cells.

The carnosine-derived lipidated peptide (CLP) successfully self-assembled into stable hydrogels, with their mechanical properties being tunable by adjusting peptide concentration and pH. For instance, increasing CLP concentration from 1% to 3% led to a 3-fold increase in hydrogel stiffness. Crucially, CLP demonstrated significant and selective anti-cancer activity in vitro. CLP treatment at a concentration of 100 µM resulted in a >85% reduction in viability for HeLa cancer cells, while showing <15% toxicity to healthy fibroblast cells, indicating high selectivity. Furthermore, CLP induced apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, with p<0.01 compared to untreated controls, suggesting a specific mechanism of action. The selectivity ratio (cancer cell IC50 / healthy cell IC50) was found to be >5, highlighting its preferential action against malignant cells.