Artificial protein cages have potential as programmable, protective carriers of fragile macromolecules to cells. While natural cages and VLPs have been extensively exploited, the use of artificial cages to deliver active proteins to cells has not yet been shown. TRAP-cage is an artificial protein cage with an unusual geometry and extremely high stability, which can be triggered to break apart in the presence of cellular reducing agents. Here, we demonstrate that TRAP-cage can be filled with a protein cargo and decorated with a cell-penetrating peptide, allowing it to enter cells. Tracking of both the TRAP-cage and the cargo shows that the protein of interest can be successfully delivered intracellularly in the active form. These results provide a valuable proof of concept for the further development of TRAP-cage as a delivery platform.

中文翻译：

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人造蛋白笼将活性蛋白货物运送到细胞内部

人造蛋白质笼具有作为易碎大分子对细胞的可编程保护载体的潜力。虽然天然笼子和 VLP 已被广泛利用，但尚未显示使用人工笼子将活性蛋白质输送到细胞。TRAP-cage 是一种人造蛋白质笼，具有不寻常的几何形状和极高的稳定性，在细胞还原剂存在的情况下可以触发分解。在这里，我们证明了 TRAP 笼可以装满蛋白质货物并用细胞穿透肽装饰，使其能够进入细胞。对 TRAP 笼和货物的跟踪表明，感兴趣的蛋白质可以成功地以活性形式在细胞内传递。这些结果为进一步开发 TRAP-cage 作为交付平台提供了宝贵的概念证明。