This invention discloses a novel class of peptides for targeted
cancer therapy and their corresponding
drug or fluorescent dye conjugates, belonging to the field of
biomedical technology. These peptides are designed based on the optimized structure of natural LHRH-III, enabling them to specifically bind to and efficiently internalize into
tumor cells overexpressing
luteinizing hormone-releasing
hormone receptor (LHRH-R). After fluorescent conjugation, their targeting ability against 4T1 cells is comparable to that of the classic
peptide [D-Lys]. 6 The [-LHRH-I]
peptide exhibits comparable to or superior performance and significantly improves cellular
internalization efficiency.
In vivo distribution studies have shown that its liver accumulation is significantly reduced compared to the control group, effectively lowering the risk of hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, by conjugating the targeting
peptide with antitumor drugs (such as
camptothecin or
doxorubicin) via disulfide linkers, the resulting peptide-
drug conjugates (PDCs) demonstrate excellent responsive
drug release characteristics and good
in vitro and
in vivo antitumor activity. The peptides and conjugates provided by this invention have potential application value in
cancer targeted therapy and diagnosis with high specificity and
low toxicity.