SMR-CPP

SMR-CPP (also known as SMRwt-CPPtat) is a synthetic peptide therapeutic developed by researchers at the Morehouse School of Medicine. It consists of the Secretion Modification Region (SMR) of the HIV-1 Nef protein conjugated to a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) derived from the HIV-1 Tat protein. SMR-CPP targets mortalin (HSPA9/GRP-75), a mitochondrial chaperone protein that is upregulated in various cancers and plays a key role in the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) or exosomes. By binding to mortalin, SMR-CPP inhibits the release of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles, blocks complement-mediated resistance, and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in breast cancer and leukemia cells. Additionally, SMR-CPP has been shown to target the bacterial chaperone DnaK, a homolog of mortalin, thereby inhibiting biofilm formation in bacterial infections.

Other names

SMR-CPP peptideSMR-CPPtat peptideSMRwt-CPP peptideSMRwt-CPPtat peptide