A comprehensive review of signal peptides: Structure, roles, and applications

Signal peptides (SP) are short peptides located in the N-terminal of proteins, carrying information for protein secretion. They are ubiquitous to all prokaryotes and eukaryotes. SPs have been of special interest in several scientific and industrial fields, including recombinant protein production, disease diagnosis, immunization, and laboratory techniques. Recently, the role of SPs in recombinant protein production has gained too much attention. Herein, several studies have been reviewed to elucidate the precise structure and function of SPs, particularly the optimized ones for recombinant protein production. However, some features of SPs still have remained obscure. In this review, some approaches concerning elucidation and optimization of SPs are discussed, and pragmatic conclusions and suggestions for future studies are also proposed. Moreover, a summary of secretory pathways, evolutionary changes, functions, applications, and different types of SPs is mentioned. At last, current limitations and prospects are discussed.