Cell-Penetrable Peptide-Conjugated FADD Induces Apoptosis and Regulates Inflammatory Signaling in Cancer Cells

Dysregulated expression of Fas-associated death domain (FADD) is associated with the impediment of various cellular pathways, including apoptosis and inflammation. The adequate cytosolic expression of FADD is critical to the regulation of cancer cell proliferation. Importantly, cancer cells devise mechanisms to suppress FADD expression and, in turn, escape from apoptosis signaling. Formulating strategies, for direct delivery of FADD proteins into cancer cells in a controlled manner, may represent a promising therapeutic approach in cancer therapy. We chemically conjugated purified FADD protein with cell permeable TAT (transactivator of transcription) peptide, to deliver in cancer cells. TAT-conjugated FADD protein internalized through the caveolar pathway of endocytosis and retained in the cytosol to augment cell death. Inside cancer cells, TAT-FADD rapidly constituted DISC (death inducing signaling complex) assembly, which in turn, instigate apoptosis signaling. The apoptotic competency of TAT-FADD showed comparable outcomes with the conventional apoptosis inducers. Notably, TAT-FADD mitigates constitutive NF-κB activation and associated downstream anti-apoptotic genes Bcl2, cFLIP(L), RIP1, and cIAP2, independent of pro-cancerous TNF-α priming. In cancer cells, TAT-FADD suppresses the canonical NLRP3 inflammasome priming and restricts the processing and secretion of proinflammatory IL-1β. Our results demonstrate that TAT-mediated intracellular delivery of FADD protein can potentially recite apoptosis signaling with simultaneous regulation of anti-apoptotic and proinflammatory NF-κB signaling activation in cancer cells.