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Klußmann M, Stillger K, Ruppel M, Sticker CL, Neundorf I. Investigating the impact of thiol reactivity and disulfide formation on cellular uptake of cell-permeable peptides. J Pept Sci 2024; 30:e3604. [PMID: 38651525 DOI: 10.1002/psc.3604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been explored as versatile tools to transport various molecules into cells. The uptake mechanism of CPPs is still not clearly understood and most probably depends on several factors like the nature of the CPP itself, the attached cargo, the investigated cell system, and other experimental conditions, such as temperature and concentration. One of the first steps of internalization involves the interaction of CPPs with negatively charged molecules present at the outer layer of the cell membrane. Recently, thiol-mediated uptake has been found to support the effective translocation of sulfhydryl-bearing substances that would actually not be cell-permeable. Within this work, we aimed to understand the relevance of thiol reactivity for the uptake mechanism of cysteine-containing CPPs that we have developed previously in our group. Therefore, we compared the two peptides, sC18-Cys and CaaX-1, in their single reduced and dimeric disulfide versions. Cytotoxicity, intracellular accumulation, and impact on the internalization process of the disulfides were investigated in HeLa cells. Both disulfide CPPs demonstrated significantly stronger cytotoxic effects and membrane activity compared with their reduced counterparts. Notably, thiol-mediated uptake could be excluded as a main driver for translocation, showing that peptides like CaaX-1 are most likely taken up by other mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merlin Klußmann
- Institute for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Melina Ruppel
- Institute for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Ines Neundorf
- Institute for Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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2
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Grabeck J, Mayer J, Miltz A, Casoria M, Quagliata M, Meinberger D, Klatt AR, Wielert I, Maier B, Papini AM, Neundorf I. Triazole-Bridged Peptides with Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity and Potency against Pathogenic Bacteria. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:2717-2727. [PMID: 38885643 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
There are still no linear antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) available as a treatment option against bacterial infections. This is caused by several drawbacks that come with AMPs such as limited proteolytic stability and low selectivity against human cells. In this work, we screened a small library of rationally designed new peptides based on the cell-penetrating peptide sC18* toward their antimicrobial activity. We identified several effective novel AMPs and chose one out of this group to further increase its potency. Therefore, we introduced a triazole bridge at different positions to provide a preformed helical structure, assuming that this modification would improve (i) proteolytic stability and (ii) membrane activity. Indeed, placing the triazole bridge within the hydrophilic part of the linear analogue highly increased membrane activity as well as stability against enzymatic digestion. The new peptides, 8A and 8B, demonstrated high activity against several bacterial species tested including pathogenic N. gonorrhoeae and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Since they exhibited significantly good tolerability against human fibroblast and blood cells, these novel peptides offer true alternatives for future clinical applications and are worth studying in more detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Grabeck
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Jacob Mayer
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Axel Miltz
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Michele Casoria
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Michael Quagliata
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Denise Meinberger
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Andreas R Klatt
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - Isabelle Wielert
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Institute for Biological Physics, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Berenike Maier
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Institute for Biological Physics, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Anna Maria Papini
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 13, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Ines Neundorf
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
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3
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Carrera-Aubesart A, Gallo M, Defaus S, Todorovski T, Andreu D. Topoisomeric Membrane-Active Peptides: A Review of the Last Two Decades. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2451. [PMID: 37896211 PMCID: PMC10610229 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15102451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, bioactive peptides have been gaining recognition in various biomedical areas, such as intracellular drug delivery (cell-penetrating peptides, CPPs) or anti-infective action (antimicrobial peptides, AMPs), closely associated to their distinct mode of interaction with biological membranes. Exploiting the interaction of membrane-active peptides with diverse targets (healthy, tumoral, bacterial or parasitic cell membranes) is opening encouraging prospects for peptides in therapeutics. However, ordinary peptides formed by L-amino acids are easily decomposed by proteases in biological fluids. One way to sidestep this limitation is to use topoisomers, namely versions of the peptide made up of D-amino acids in either canonic (enantio) or inverted (retroenantio) sequence. Rearranging peptide sequences in this fashion provides a certain degree of native structure mimicry that, in appropriate contexts, may deliver desirable biological activity while avoiding protease degradation. In this review, we will focus on recent accounts of membrane-active topoisomeric peptides with therapeutic applications as CPP drug delivery vectors, or as antimicrobial and anticancer candidates. We will also discuss the most common modes of interaction of these peptides with their membrane targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Carrera-Aubesart
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.); (S.D.); (T.T.)
| | - Maria Gallo
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.); (S.D.); (T.T.)
| | - Sira Defaus
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.); (S.D.); (T.T.)
| | - Toni Todorovski
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.); (S.D.); (T.T.)
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
| | - David Andreu
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (A.C.-A.); (M.G.); (S.D.); (T.T.)
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4
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Hsueh HT, Chou RT, Rai U, Liyanage W, Kim YC, Appell MB, Pejavar J, Leo KT, Davison C, Kolodziejski P, Mozzer A, Kwon H, Sista M, Anders NM, Hemingway A, Rompicharla SVK, Edwards M, Pitha I, Hanes J, Cummings MP, Ensign LM. Machine learning-driven multifunctional peptide engineering for sustained ocular drug delivery. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2509. [PMID: 37130851 PMCID: PMC10154330 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38056-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Sustained drug delivery strategies have many potential benefits for treating a range of diseases, particularly chronic diseases that require treatment for years. For many chronic ocular diseases, patient adherence to eye drop dosing regimens and the need for frequent intraocular injections are significant barriers to effective disease management. Here, we utilize peptide engineering to impart melanin binding properties to peptide-drug conjugates to act as a sustained-release depot in the eye. We develop a super learning-based methodology to engineer multifunctional peptides that efficiently enter cells, bind to melanin, and have low cytotoxicity. When the lead multifunctional peptide (HR97) is conjugated to brimonidine, an intraocular pressure lowering drug that is prescribed for three times per day topical dosing, intraocular pressure reduction is observed for up to 18 days after a single intracameral injection in rabbits. Further, the cumulative intraocular pressure lowering effect increases ~17-fold compared to free brimonidine injection. Engineered multifunctional peptide-drug conjugates are a promising approach for providing sustained therapeutic delivery in the eye and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry T Hsueh
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Renee Ti Chou
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Usha Rai
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Wathsala Liyanage
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yoo Chun Kim
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthew B Appell
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jahnavi Pejavar
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kirby T Leo
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Charlotte Davison
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Patricia Kolodziejski
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ann Mozzer
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - HyeYoung Kwon
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Maanasa Sista
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Nicole M Anders
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Avelina Hemingway
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sri Vishnu Kiran Rompicharla
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Malia Edwards
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ian Pitha
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Justin Hanes
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael P Cummings
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Laura M Ensign
- Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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5
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Comparing Variants of the Cell-Penetrating Peptide sC18 to Design Peptide-Drug Conjugates. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27196656. [PMID: 36235193 PMCID: PMC9570898 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27196656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Herein, the design and synthesis of peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) including different variants of the cell-penetrating peptide sC18 is presented. We first generated a series of novel sequence mutants of sC18 having either amino acid deletions and/or substitutions, and then tested their biological activity. The effects of histidine substituents were found to be not meaningful for sC18 uptake and cell selectivity. Moreover, building a nearly perfect amphipathic structure within a shortened sC18 derivative provided a peptide that was highly membrane-active, but also too cytotoxic. As a result, the most promising analog was sC18ΔE, which stands out due to its higher uptake efficacy compared to parent sC18. In the last set of experiments, we let the peptides react with the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin by Thiol-Michael addition to form novel PDCs. Our results indicate that sC18ΔE could be a more efficient drug carrier than parent sC18 for biomedical applications. However, cellular uptake using endocytosis and resulting entrapment of cargo inside vesicles is still a major critical step to overcome in CPP-containing peptide-drug development.
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6
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Lim J, Jang J, Myung H, Song M. Eradication of drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii by cell-penetrating peptide fused endolysin. J Microbiol 2022; 60:859-866. [PMID: 35614377 PMCID: PMC9132170 DOI: 10.1007/s12275-022-2107-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial agents targeting peptidoglycan have shown successful results in eliminating bacteria with high selective toxicity. Bacteriophage encoded endolysin as an alternative antibiotics is a peptidoglycan degrading enzyme with a low rate of resistance. Here, the engineered endolysin was developed to defeat multiple drug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii. First, putative endolysin PA90 was predicted by genome analysis of isolated Pseudomonas phage PBPA. The His-tagged PA90 was purified from BL21(DE3) pLysS and tested for the enzymatic activity using Gram-negative pathogens known for having a high antibiotic resistance rate including A. baumannii. Since the measured activity of PA90 was low, probably due to the outer membrane, cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) DS4.3 was introduced at the N-terminus of PA90 to aid access to its substrate. This engineered endolysin, DS-PA90, completely killed A. baumannii at 0.25 µM, at which concentration PA90 could only eliminate less than one log in CFU/ml. Additionally, DS-PA90 has tolerance to NaCl, where the ∼50% of activity could be maintained in the presence of 150 mM NaCl, and stable activity was also observed with changes in pH or temperature. Even MDR A. baumannii strains were highly susceptible to DS-PA90 treatment: five out of nine strains were entirely killed and four strains were reduced by 3–4 log in CFU/ml. Consequently, DS-PA90 could protect waxworm from A. baumannii-induced death by ∼70% for ATCC 17978 or ∼44% for MDR strain 1656-2 infection. Collectively, our data suggest that CPP-fused endolysin can be an effective antibacterial agent against Gram-negative pathogens regardless of antibiotics resistance mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeonghyun Lim
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, 17035, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeyeon Jang
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, 17035, Republic of Korea
| | - Heejoon Myung
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, 17035, Republic of Korea
- LyseNTech Co., Ltd., Seongnam, 13486, Republic of Korea
| | - Miryoung Song
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, 17035, Republic of Korea.
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7
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Design of Membrane Active Peptides Considering Multi-Objective Optimization for Biomedical Application. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:membranes12020180. [PMID: 35207101 PMCID: PMC8880019 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12020180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
A multitude of membrane active peptides exists that divides into subclasses, such as cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) capable to enter eukaryotic cells or antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) able to interact with prokaryotic cell envelops. Peptide membrane interactions arise from unique sequence motifs of the peptides that account for particular physicochemical properties. Membrane active peptides are mainly cationic, often primary or secondary amphipathic, and they interact with membranes depending on the composition of the bilayer lipids. Sequences of these peptides consist of short 5–30 amino acid sections derived from natural proteins or synthetic sources. Membrane active peptides can be designed using computational methods or can be identified in screenings of combinatorial libraries. This review focuses on strategies that were successfully applied to the design and optimization of membrane active peptides with respect to the fact that diverse features of successful peptide candidates are prerequisites for biomedical application. Not only membrane activity but also degradation stability in biological environments, propensity to induce resistances, and advantageous toxicological properties are crucial parameters that have to be considered in attempts to design useful membrane active peptides. Reliable assay systems to access the different biological characteristics of numerous membrane active peptides are essential tools for multi-objective peptide optimization.
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Zhang QY, Yan ZB, Meng YM, Hong XY, Shao G, Ma JJ, Cheng XR, Liu J, Kang J, Fu CY. Antimicrobial peptides: mechanism of action, activity and clinical potential. Mil Med Res 2021; 8:48. [PMID: 34496967 PMCID: PMC8425997 DOI: 10.1186/s40779-021-00343-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 196] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The management of bacterial infections is becoming a major clinical challenge due to the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. As an excellent candidate to overcome antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are produced from the synthetic and natural sources demonstrate a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with the high specificity and low toxicity. These peptides possess distinctive structures and functions by employing sophisticated mechanisms of action. This comprehensive review provides a broad overview of AMPs from the origin, structural characteristics, mechanisms of action, biological activities to clinical applications. We finally discuss the strategies to optimize and develop AMP-based treatment as the potential antimicrobial and anticancer therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Yu Zhang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhi-Bin Yan
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yue-Ming Meng
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiang-Yu Hong
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Gang Shao
- Department of Oncology, The 903rd Hospital of PLA, Hangzhou, 310013, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jun-Jie Ma
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xu-Rui Cheng
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jun Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, 555 Mission Bay Blvd. South, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Jian Kang
- Oncogenic Signaling and Growth Control Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia.,Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Cai-Yun Fu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Silkworm Bioreactor and Biomedicine, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, No. 928, Street 2, Xiasha Higher Education Zone, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, China.
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9
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Zhang X, Lei T, Du H. Prospect of cell penetrating peptides in stem cell tracking. Stem Cell Res Ther 2021; 12:457. [PMID: 34391472 PMCID: PMC8364034 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-021-02522-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Stem cell therapy has shown great efficacy in many diseases. However, the treatment mechanism is still unclear, which is a big obstacle for promoting clinical research. Therefore, it is particularly important to track transplanted stem cells in vivo, find out the distribution and condition of the stem cells, and furthermore reveal the treatment mechanism. Many tracking methods have been developed, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorescence imaging, and ultrasound imaging (UI). Among them, MRI and UI techniques have been used in clinical. In stem cell tracking, a major drawback of these technologies is that the imaging signal is not strong enough, mainly due to the low cell penetration efficiency of imaging particles. Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been widely used for cargo delivery due to its high efficacy, good safety properties, and wide delivery of various cargoes. However, there are few reports on the application of CPPs in current stem cell tracking methods. In this review, we systematically introduced the mechanism of CPPs into cell membranes and their advantages in stem cell tracking, discussed the clinical applications and limitations of CPPs, and finally we summarized several commonly used CPPs and their specific applications in stem cell tracking. Although it is not an innovation of tracer materials, CPPs as a powerful tool have broad prospects in stem cell tracking. ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoshuang Zhang
- Daxing Research Institute, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.,School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Tong Lei
- Daxing Research Institute, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.,School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Hongwu Du
- Daxing Research Institute, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China. .,School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
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10
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Antimicrobial peptides as potential therapeutics for breast cancer. Pharmacol Res 2021; 171:105777. [PMID: 34298112 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common and deadliest cancer in women worldwide. Although notable advances have been achieved in the treatment of breast cancer, the overall survival rate of metastatic breast cancer patients is still considerably low due to the development of resistance to breast cancer chemotherapeutic agents and the non-optimal specificity of the current generation of cancer medications. Hence, there is a growing interest in the search for alternative therapeutics with novel anticancer mechanisms. Recently, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have gained much attention due to their cost-effectiveness, high specificity of action, and robust efficacy. However, there are no clinical data available about their efficacy. This warrants the increasing need for clinical trials to be conducted to assess the efficacy of this new class of drugs. Here, we will focus on the recent progress in the use of AMPs for breast cancer therapy and will highlight their modes of action. Finally, we will discuss the combination of AMP-based therapeutics with other breast cancer therapy strategies, including nanotherapy and chemotherapy, which may provide a potential avenue for overcoming drug resistance.
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