RGD peptide is a synthetic compound made up of the arginine-glycine-aspartate motif that has been extensively used to inhibit integrin-ligand interactions in studies related to cell adhesion, migration, growth, and differentiation.¹RGD peptide has also been shown to directly induce apoptosis, independent of integrin-mediated cell clustering or signals, by initiating conformational changes that enhance pro-caspase-3 activation and autoprocessing.^2,3

1.Ruoslahti, E., and Öbrink, B.Common principles in cell adhesionExp. Cell Res.2271-11(1996) 2.Buckley, C.D., Pilling, D., Henriquez, N.V., et al.RGD peptides induce apoptosis by direct caspase-3 activationNature397534-539(1999) 3.Adderley, S.R., and Fitzgerald, D.J.Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists induce apoptosis in rat cardiomyocytes by caspase-3 activationJ. Biol. Chem.2755760-5766(2000)