Identification of a RON tyrosine kinase receptor binding peptide using phage display technique and computational modeling of its binding mode.

RON (Recepteur d'Origine Nantais) tyrosine kinase receptor is a promising target for therapeutic intervention in cancer therapy. The aim of this work was identification of RON-binding peptides using phage display and computational modeling their mode of binding. A 12-mer peptide phage library was utilized to perform biopanning against RON. The RON-binding ability of the selected peptide-displaying phage and their possible binding sites were examined by ELISA. Binding modes and affinities were also predicted by docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results of ELISA experiment showed that P6 peptide displaying phage has higher affinity for RON compared to others and its binding site is located out of ligand binding site. Docking and MD simulation results also indicated higher affinity of P6 to RON as well as its exosite-binding feature. Taken together, our data suggest a capacity for P6 peptide (FEHSLYKEMTHL) to be utilized as RON binding agent, and hence be used for various purposes, including design of drug delivery systems for transferring cytotoxic agents to RON-positive cancer cells, interfering with RON signaling, peptidomimetics design, and diagnostic imaging.