Acute kidney injury (AKI) has high incidence and mortality rates. Present treatments are mostly symptomatic and cause side effects due to systemic distribution; thus, targeted kidney drug delivery is desired. Transmembrane kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM1) is expressed at low levels in normal kidneys but markedly up-regulated following injury, making it an ideal marker/target for injured kidneys. Here, assisted by AlphaFold, we constructed a library of 1885 peptides that target the extracellular Ig V domain of KIM1 based on interacting fragments from 47 potential KIM1 binding proteins followed by systemic optimization according to their binding energies with KIM1. Experimental validation of top candidates (TKP 1-5) demonstrated that TKP 4 efficiently targeted injured renal cells/kidneys, with its specificity demonstrated in KIM1 knockout cells/mice. TKP 4-decorating liposomes were loaded with nystatin, a renal-protective compound with systemic side effects, and efficiently targeted injured mouse kidneys and alleviated AKI. This work establishes a virtual platform to screen/identify drug delivery candidates with broad research/therapeutic potentials.
基金:
Natural Science Foundation of China [32021003, 31971066, 82273838, 824B2115, 32371171]; National Key R&D Program of China [2023YFC2507900, 2022YFA0806100]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2042022dx0003]; Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province [2021CFA004, 2022CFB247, 2022DFE025]
第一作者机构:[1]Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, Tongji Med Coll, Sch Pharm, Wuhan 430030, Peoples R China[2]Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, State Key Lab Diag & Treatment Severe Zoonot Infec, Wuhan 430030, Peoples R China
通讯作者:
通讯机构:[1]Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, Tongji Med Coll, Sch Pharm, Wuhan 430030, Peoples R China[2]Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, State Key Lab Diag & Treatment Severe Zoonot Infec, Wuhan 430030, Peoples R China[7]Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, Tongji Med Coll, Tongji RongCheng Biomed Ctr, Wuhan 430030, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式(GB/T 7714):
Xiao Yushuo,Tong Zhijian,Xu Huidie,et al.A rationally designed injury kidney targeting peptide library and its application in rescuing acute kidney injury[J].SCIENCE ADVANCES.2025,11(18):doi:10.1126/sciadv.adt3943.
APA:
Xiao, Yushuo,Tong, Zhijian,Xu, Huidie,Jia, Zhouyan,Wang, Chen...&Huang, Kun.(2025).A rationally designed injury kidney targeting peptide library and its application in rescuing acute kidney injury.SCIENCE ADVANCES,11,(18)
MLA:
Xiao, Yushuo,et al."A rationally designed injury kidney targeting peptide library and its application in rescuing acute kidney injury".SCIENCE ADVANCES 11..18(2025)