Site-specific binding of short peptides with DNA modulated eukaryotic endonuclease activity

Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review

Peptides are characterized by their wide range of biological activity: they regulate functions of the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. The mechanism of such action of peptides involves their ability to regulate gene expression and protein synthesis in plants, microorganisms, insects, birds, rodents, primates, and humans. Short peptides, consisting of 2-7 amino acid residues, can penetrate into the nuclei and nucleoli of cells and interact with the nucleosome, the histone proteins, and both single- and double-stranded DNA. DNA-peptide interactions, including sequence recognition in gene promoters, are important for template-directed synthetic reactions, replication, transcription, and reparation. Peptides can regulate the status of DNA methylation, which is an epigenetic mechanism for the activation or repression of genes in both the normal condition, as well as in cases of pathology and senescence. In this context, one can assume that short peptides were evolutionarily among the first signaling molecules that regulated the reactions of template-directed syntheses. This situation enhances the prospects of developing effective and safe immunoregulatory, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, and other drugs based on short peptides.

Molecular-Physiological Aspects of Regulatory Effect of Peptide Retinoprotectors

Retinal diseases were always difficult problem for clinical ophthalmology. Modern methods of their treatment only decrease risk of complications, however in Russia was created better technology for this purpose: peptide bioregulators, which were made by sequential adding of amino acids one to another, binding with the promoter region of genes, and promoting retinoprotective effect by regulation of their expression, improving the state of the retina.