Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Quantifying the Antifungal Activity of Peptides Against Candida albicans
Published on: January 13, 2023
Cationic antimicrobial peptides as novel cytotoxic agents for cancer treatment
Jamie S Mader1, David W Hoskin
1Dalhousie University, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, 5850 College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1X5, Canada.
Abstract:
Cancer treatment by conventional chemotherapy is hindered by toxic side effects and the frequent development of multi-drug resistance by cancer cells. Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) are a promising new class of natural-source drugs that may avoid the shortcomings of conventional chemotherapy because certain CAPs exhibit selective cytotoxicity against a broad spectrum of human cancer cells, including neoplastic cells that have acquired a multi-drug-resistant phenotype. Tumour cell killing by CAPs is usually by a cell membrane-lytic effect, although some CAPs can trigger apoptosis in cancer cells via mitochondrial membrane disruption. Furthermore, certain CAPs are potent inhibitors of blood vessel development (angiogenesis) that is associated with tumour progression. This article reviews the mechanisms by which CAPs exert anticancer activity and discusses the potential application of selected CAPs as therapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancers.
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Antimicrobial Proteins
Interferons
Interferons (IFNs) are proteins produced by lymphocytes, macrophages, and fibroblasts infected with viruses. While IFNs cannot prevent viruses from entering and...
Drugs that Destabilize Microtubules
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
