Abstract
Anomalous changes of the cell mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met) receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathway play an important role in the occurrence and development of human cancers, including gastric cancer. In this study, we designed and synthesized a novel peptide (CM 7) targeting the tyrosine kinase receptor c-Met, that can inhibit c-Met-mediated signaling in MKN-45 and U87 cells. Its affinity to human c-Met protein or c-Met-positive cells was determined, which showed specific binding to c-Met with high affinity. Its biological activities against MKN-45 c-Met-positive cells were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. As a result, peptide CM 7 exhibited moderate regulation of c-Met-mediated cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and scattering. The inhibitory effect of peptide CM 7 on tumor growth in vivo was investigated by establishing a xenograft mouse model using MKN-45 cells, and the growth inhibition rate of tumor masses for peptide CM 7 was 62%. Based on our data, CM 7 could be a promising therapeutic peptide for c-Met-dependent cancer patients.