Antimicrobial Peptides as Anticancer Agents: Functional Properties and Biological Activities (original) (raw)
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Antimicrobial peptides with selective antitumor mechanisms: prospect for anticancer applications
Oncotarget, 2017
In the last several decades, there have been significant advances in anticancer therapy. However, the development of resistance to cancer drugs and the lack of specificity related to actively dividing cells leading to toxic side effects have undermined these achievements. As a result, there is considerable interest in alternative drugs with novel antitumor mechanisms. In addition to the recent approach using immunotherapy, an effective but much cheaper therapeutic option of pharmaceutical drugs would still provide the best choice for cancer patients as the first line treatment. Ribosomally synthesized cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or host defense peptides (HDP) display broad-spectrum activity against bacteria based on electrostatic interactions with negatively charged lipids on the bacterial surface. Because of increased proportions of phosphatidylserine (negatively charged) on the surface of cancer cells compared to normal cells, cationic amphipathic peptides could be an e...
Frontiers in Immunology
FiGURe 1 | Bioproduction of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their tumor suppressive effects. In humans, AMPs are present at various tissues, including the epithelium of the skin, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal tract, as well as the immune system. These peptides can effectively impinge on a broad spectrum of microorganisms including fungi, bacteria, and viruses. However, they also restrain tumor growth and their immunostimulatory properties further co-opt anticancer immunity for enhanced tumor eradication.
Peptides with Dual Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities
Frontiers in Chemistry, 2017
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.
A REVIEW OF POTENTIAL ANTICANCERS FROM ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES Review Article
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of conventional chemotherapy such as resistance, lack of specificity, severe toxicity warrant the need to explore alternative approach for the treatment of cancer. Antimicrobial peptides are part of the innate defense mechanism of all organisms and have been developed as potential alternatives in combatting infectious diseases. In addition, anticancer effects of many peptides have been reported with remarkable prospects in some in vitro studies especially on breast, cervical and lung cancer cell lines, and in vivo murine tumour xenografts. This review summarizes the reports on the activities of some selected anticancer peptides on various cancer cell lines.
A REVIEW OF POTENTIAL ANTICANCERS FROM ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of conventional chemotherapy such as resistance, lack of specificity, severe toxicity warrant the need to explore alternative approach for the treatment of cancer. Antimicrobial peptides are part of the innate defense mechanism of all organisms and have been developed as potential alternatives in combatting infectious diseases. In addition, anticancer effects of many peptides have been reported with remarkable prospects in some in vitro studies especially on breast, cervical and lung cancer cell lines, and in vivo murine tumour xenografts. This review summarizes the reports on the activities of some selected anticancer peptides on various cancer cell lines.
Membrane interactions and cell selectivity of amphiphilic anticancer peptides
Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 2018
Following considerable research efforts on antimicrobial effects by cationic and amphiphilic peptides during the last couple of decades, increasing focus has recently been placed on additional host defense and other biological functions by such peptides, such as antiinflammatory and anticancer effects. Regarding the latter, it has been increasingly understood that amphiphilic peptides present interesting opportunities not only for reaching selective cancer cell toxicity, but also for promoting uptake of other anticancer therapeutics and of nanopariculate delivery systems containing such drugs. While there is an emerging understanding of the direct antimicrobial function of amphiphilic peptides through bacterial membrane destabilization, the mechanisms underlying their anticancer effects remain less clear. Here, we therefore provide a brief overview on factors affecting toxicity of amphiphilic peptides against tumor and non-malignant cells, and also describe how such peptides can be combined with conjugation moieties or drug delivery systems for increased anticancer effects.
Biomedical Relevance of Novel Anticancer Peptides in the Sensitive Treatment of Cancer
Biomolecules
The global increase in cancer mortality and economic losses necessitates the cautious quest for therapeutic agents with compensatory advantages over conventional therapies. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are a subset of host defense peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, which have emerged as therapeutic and diagnostic candidates due to several compensatory advantages over the non-specificity of the current treatment regimens. This review aimed to highlight the ravaging incidence of cancer, the use of ACPs in cancer treatment with their mechanisms, ACP discovery and delivery methods, and the limitations for their use. This would create awareness for identifying more ACPs with better specificity, accuracy and sensitivity towards the disease. It would also promote their efficacious utilization in biotechnology, medical sciences and molecular biology to ease the severity of the disease and enable the patients living with these conditions to develop an accommodating lifestyle.
Iranian journal of pediatric hematology and oncology, 2018
Application of chemotherapy in cancerous children leads to reduction of immune system efficiency. Therefore, these children are prone to various infectious diseases. The excessive use of antibiotics can bring about antibiotic resistant strains. Hence, it is essential to investigate new therapies for this problem. On the other hand, the emergence of resistance against multiple drugs is a major problem in treatments of infection and cancer. Lack of selectivity and negative side effects on normal cells is another associated problem for available drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are important agents that are made by the immune system in response to pathogens. This kind of immune response exists in all animal categories from prokaryotes to humans. Different types of antimicrobial peptides have been identified and isolated from various organisms. These peptides, along with antimicrobial effects, also contain other biological activities such as anticancer, spermicidal, anti-diabetic, growth s...
Efficacy of a proapoptotic peptide towards cancer cells
In vivo (Athens, Greece)
Conventional cancer therapies are associated with severe side-effects and the development of drug resistance. Therefore, new strategies to specifically target tumor cells leaving healthy tissue unaffected are of great interest. On this respect, we tested the antimicrobial peptide (KLAKLAK)(2). This peptide exhibits cytotoxicity against human breast cancer and other tumor cells, while healthy cells remain unaffected. Moreover, treatment with this cationic amphipathic peptide results in slower tumor growth and longer overall survival in vivo. Our data suggest a potential use of (KLAKLAK)(2) peptide for patients with breast and other types of cancer.
On the selectivity and efficacy of defense peptides with respect to cancer cells
Medicinal Research Reviews, 2013
Here, we review potential determinants of the anticancer efficacy of innate immune peptides (ACPs) for cancer cells. These determinants include membrane-based factors, such as receptors, phosphatidylserine, sialic acid residues, and sulfated glycans, and peptide-based factors, such as residue composition, sequence length, net charge, hydrophobic arc size, hydrophobicity, and amphiphilicity. Each of these factors may contribute to the anticancer action of ACPs, but no single factor(s) makes an overriding contribution to their overall selectivity and toxicity. Differences between the anticancer actions of ACPs seem to relate to different levels of interplay between these peptide and membranebased factors.