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Mechanistic Landscape of Membrane-Permeabilizing Peptides
Shantanu Guha1, Jenisha Ghimire1, Eric Wu1
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Tulane University School of Medicine , New Orleans , Louisiana 70112 , United States.
Chemical Reviews
|January 10, 2019
Summary
Membrane permeabilizing peptides (MPPs) are versatile molecules with diverse applications. Their mechanisms are complex, best understood as dynamic landscapes rather than discrete processes.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Membrane permeabilizing peptides (MPPs) are naturally occurring molecules found in all life forms.
- MPPs are utilized in various applications, including therapeutics and drug delivery.
- Decades of research have focused on designing and optimizing MPPs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the field of membrane permeabilizing peptides.
- To discuss the diversity of MPP sources, structures, and activities.
- To explore the complex and dynamic nature of MPP mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on membrane permeabilizing peptides.
- Analysis of systems and methods for measuring MPP activities.
- Discussion of observed MPP behaviors and structural dynamics.
Main Results:
- MPPs exhibit a wide diversity in their origins and structures.
- Measuring MPP activity involves various systems and methodologies.
- MPP mechanisms are not static but represent a dynamic ensemble of states.
Conclusions:
- The lack of discrete 3D structures hinders predictive sequence-structure-function rules for MPPs.
- MPP mechanisms are better conceptualized as broad regions within a mechanistic landscape.
- Understanding this dynamic nature is crucial for future MPP design and application.
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