Self-Assembling Synthetic Peptides Remodel Mitochondrial Properties via Nanopore Formation

Pore-forming peptides (PFPs) are powerful tools for engineering biological membranes in vitro and in living cells. They can be derived from natural sources or designed de novo, with synthetic peptides offering distinct advantages in rational design unconstrained by natural sequences. While native PFPs have been targeted to specific organelles to modulate their functions, the potential of synthetic PFPs for organelle engineering remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that the 28-amino acid synthetic peptides, SVG28 and its variant SVG28D2, can be selectively targeted to mitochondria for functional alteration. More specifically, molecular dynamics simulations first confirmed the structural stability of the SVG28 nanopore even when fused to the TOM20 transmembrane domain, a mitochondrial targeting sequence. In isolated lipid bilayers, TOM20-SVG28 formed pores with a 0.3-nS, conductance, or 1.0-nm pore. The expression efficiency was further enhanced by two amino acid substitutions (SVG28D2). In cells, both TOM20-SVG28 and TOM20-SVG28D2 localized to the mitochondria, induced morphological alterations, and reduced both membrane potential and ATP production. These observations in silico, in vitro and in cellulo collectively indicate that the synthetic SVG28 peptides self-assemble into pores in the outer mitochondrial membrane, likely permitting proton permeation. Importantly, the matrix protein Su9 remained confined within mitochondria, suggesting preserved inner membrane integrity, and thus specific effect on the target. This work establishes a framework for the design and application of genetically-encoded synthetic PFPs in living cells, opening new avenues for cellular engineering.