Cytotoxic peptide–PNA conjugates obtained by RNA-programmed peptidyl transfer with turnover

Abstract

We describe a RNA-programmed peptidyl transfer reaction, which triggers the formation of a cytotoxic, cell permeant 14-mer peptide–PNA conjugate from inactive fragments. Turnover in the RNA template is required to evoke the bioactivity. HeLa cells enabled the read-out of the reaction, which proceeded rapidly when it was performed on matched RNA templates.