RHAMM-Target Peptides as Molecular Imaging Probes for the Imaging of RHAMM-Expressing Cancer Cells

The incidence of cancer in the world is growing steadily. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new approaches for the early diagnosis of cancer. This work is devoted to the study of the potential of RHAMM-target peptides for molecular diagnosis of cancer. The key amino acids of the RHAMM target peptides were identified by the alanine scan method. The specificity of binding of peptides to RHAMM-CT was assessed using competitive HA substitution by the ELISA method. RHAMM-CT was obtained by genetic engineering and isolated by affinity chromatography. The interaction of RHAMM target peptides with the surface receptor of tumor cells was evaluated by confocal microscopy. It has been shown that fragment EEGEEZ in the peptides' composition is necessary for binding to the RHAMM-CT. The results showed that the RHAMM-target peptides bind specifically to the RHAMM-CT and competitively substituted HA at the RHAMM. It has been found that aggrecan is unable to displace peptides from the HA binding site of RHAMM-CT. The results showed that the FITC peptide binds specifically to RHAMM on the surface of prostate cancer cells. Therefore, RHAMM-target peptides have the potential for early molecular diagnosis of cancer.