Year: 2017
Type: review
Abstract: In recent years, the number of people suffering from cancer and multi-resistant infections has increased, such that both diseases are already seen as current and future major causes of death. Moreover, chronic infections are one of the main causes of cancer, due to the instability in the immune system that allows cancer cells to proliferate. Likewise, the physical debility associated with cancer or with anticancer therapy itself often paves the way for opportunistic infections. It is urgent to develop new therapeutic methods, with higher efficiency and lower side effects. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are found in the innate immune system of a wide range of organisms. Identified as the most promising alternative to conventional molecules used nowadays against infections, some of them have been shown to have dual activity, both as antimicrobial and anticancer peptides (ACPs). Highly cationic and amphipathic, they have demonstrated efficacy against both conditions, with the number of nature-driven or synthetically designed peptides increasing year by year. With similar properties, AMPs that can also act as ACPs are viewed as future chemotherapeutic drugs, with the advantage of low propensity to resistance, which started this paradigm in the pharmaceutical market. These peptides have already been described as molecules presenting killing mechanisms at the membrane level, but also acting toward intracellular targets, which increases their success compartively to one-target specific drugs. This review will approach the desirable characteristics of small peptides that demonstrated dual activity against microbial infections and cancer, as well as the peptides engaged in clinical trials.
Source: Frontiers in Chemistry
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
Funders: European Commission, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Awards: G1229469980, G1614988657, G2803563960, G3345895242, G3477743816, Innovative peptides against cancer and pathogenic bacteria, with advances in science, biopharmaceutical drug development, product market targeting, training , and communication., G3997841815, G4253462515, G4937468798, G611330818, G832043696, G8512683158, G9644609
OpenAlex ID: W2591017015