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Robledo SM, Pérez-Silanes S, Fernández-Rubio C, Poveda A, Monzote L, González VM, Alonso-Collado P, Carrión J. Neglected Zoonotic Diseases: Advances in the Development of Cell-Penetrating and Antimicrobial Peptides against Leishmaniosis and Chagas Disease. Pathogens 2023; 12:939. [PMID: 37513786 PMCID: PMC10383258 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12070939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2020, the WHO established the road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030, which aims to control and eradicate 20 diseases, including leishmaniosis and Chagas disease. In addition, since 2015, the WHO has been developing a Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. In this context, the achievement of innovative strategies as an alternative to replace conventional therapies is a first-order socio-sanitary priority, especially regarding endemic zoonoses in poor regions, such as those caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. infections. In this scenario, it is worth highlighting a group of natural peptide molecules (AMPs and CPPs) that are promising strategies for improving therapeutic efficacy against these neglected zoonoses, as they avoid the development of toxicity and resistance of conventional treatments. This review presents the novelties of these peptide molecules and their ability to cross a whole system of cell membranes as well as stimulate host immune defenses or even serve as vectors of molecules. The efforts of the biotechnological sector will make it possible to overcome the limitations of antimicrobial peptides through encapsulation and functionalization methods to obtain approval for these treatments to be used in clinical programs for the eradication of leishmaniosis and Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Robledo
- Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050010, Colombia
| | - Silvia Pérez-Silanes
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, ISTUN Instituto de Salud Tropical, IdiSNA, Universidad de Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Celia Fernández-Rubio
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, ISTUN Instituto de Salud Tropical, IdiSNA, Universidad de Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ana Poveda
- DNA Replication and Genome Instability Unit, Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Zoonosis y Salud Pública (GIBCIZ), Instituto de Investigación en Zoonosis-CIZ, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170521, Ecuador
| | - Lianet Monzote
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kourí", Apartado Postal No. 601, Marianao 13, La Habana 10400, Cuba
| | - Víctor M González
- Grupo de Aptámeros, Departamento de Bioquímica-Investigación, IRYCIS-Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Carretera de Colmenar Viejo Km. 9.100, 28034 Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Alonso-Collado
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Carrión
- Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Li X, Huang CH, Sánchez-Rivera FJ, Kennedy MC, Tschaharganeh DF, Morris JP, Montinaro A, O'Rourke KP, Banito A, Wilkinson JE, Chen CC, Ho YJ, Dow LE, Tian S, Luan W, de Stanchina E, Zhang T, Gray NS, Walczak H, Lowe SW. A preclinical platform for assessing antitumor effects and systemic toxicities of cancer drug targets. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2110557119. [PMID: 35442775 PMCID: PMC9169916 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2110557119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Anticancer drug development campaigns often fail due to an incomplete understanding of the therapeutic index differentiating the efficacy of the agent against the cancer and its on-target toxicities to the host. To address this issue, we established a versatile preclinical platform in which genetically defined cancers are produced using somatic tissue engineering in transgenic mice harboring a doxycycline-inducible short hairpin RNA against the target of interest. In this system, target inhibition is achieved by the addition of doxycycline, enabling simultaneous assessment of efficacy and toxicity in the same animal. As proof of concept, we focused on CDK9—a cancer target whose clinical development has been hampered by compounds with poorly understood target specificity and unacceptable toxicities. We systematically compared phenotypes produced by genetic Cdk9 inhibition to those achieved using a recently developed highly specific small molecule CDK9 inhibitor and found that both perturbations led to robust antitumor responses. Remarkably, nontoxic levels of CDK9 inhibition could achieve significant treatment efficacy, and dose-dependent toxicities produced by prolonged CDK9 suppression were largely reversible upon Cdk9 restoration or drug withdrawal. Overall, these results establish a versatile in vivo target validation platform that can be employed for rapid triaging of therapeutic targets and lend support to efforts aimed at advancing CDK9 inhibitors for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Li
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
- Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
| | - Chun-Hao Huang
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
- Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
| | - Francisco J. Sánchez-Rivera
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Margaret C. Kennedy
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Darjus F. Tschaharganeh
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - John P. Morris
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Antonella Montinaro
- Centre for Cell Death, Cancer, and Inflammation, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin P. O'Rourke
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
- Weill Cornell Medicine/The Rockefeller University/Sloan Kettering Institute Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, New York, NY 10065
| | - Ana Banito
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - John E. Wilkinson
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Chi-Chao Chen
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
- Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
| | - Yu-Jui Ho
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Lukas E. Dow
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Sha Tian
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Wei Luan
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Elisa de Stanchina
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
| | - Tinghu Zhang
- Innovative Medicines Accelerator, Stanford Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health (ChEM-H), Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Nathanael S. Gray
- Innovative Medicines Accelerator, Stanford Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health (ChEM-H), Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Henning Walczak
- Centre for Cell Death, Cancer, and Inflammation, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, United Kingdom
- Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Cluster of Excellence, University of Cologne, Cologne 50931, Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Scott W. Lowe
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065
- Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065
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