| 研究実績の概要 |
本研究では、
Molecular self-assembly provides diverse approaches to construct nanostructured or multifunctional materials at various scales and dimensions. Here we report cancer cell death initiated by the intracellular molecular self-assembly of a peptide lipid, which served as a gelator precursor. The gelator precursor was designed to form nanofibres via molecular self-assembly, after cleavage by a cancer-related enzyme (matrix metalloproteinase-7, MMP-7), leading to hydrogelation. The precursor exhibited remarkable cytotoxicity to 5 different cancer cell lines, while it exhibited low cytotoxicity to normal cells that secreted small amounts of MMP-7. Cancer cells secrete excessive amounts of MMP-7, which converted the precursor into a supramolecular gelator prior to its uptake by the cells. Once inside the cells, the supramolecular gelator formed a gel via molecular self-assembly, exerting stress upon the cancer cells. The present study thus describes a new drug where molecular self-assembly acts as the mechanism of cytotoxicity.
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