Antimicrobial peptides: natural or synthetic defense peptides against HBV and HCV infections

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Immunology
• Virology

Background:

• Hepatitis C (HCV) and Hepatitis B (HBV) infections present treatment challenges, including drug resistance, high costs, and adverse effects.
• Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), naturally occurring immune molecules, are explored as alternative antiviral agents.
• AMPs possess amphiphilic properties and are found across prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the potential of AMPs as an alternative therapeutic strategy for HCV and HBV infections.
• To highlight the mechanisms of action and low toxicity of AMPs against viral pathogens.
• To identify various AMPs with demonstrated antiviral properties against HBV and HCV.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing studies on AMPs and their antiviral activities.
• Analysis of AMPs' chemical characteristics, including amphiphilicity and charge.
• Examination of documented antiviral mechanisms of AMPs.

Main Results:

• AMPs exhibit diverse antiviral mechanisms, including inhibition of viral entry, replication, and packaging, alongside immune modulation.
• Several classes of AMPs, such as defensins and lactoferrin, demonstrate significant antiviral effects against HBV and HCV.
• AMPs show low toxicity to human host cells, particularly liver cells, making them suitable for therapeutic development.

Conclusions:

• AMPs represent a promising new generation of antiviral biomolecules for treating HCV and HBV infections.
• Their low toxicity and broad-spectrum activity position AMPs as valuable candidates for adjuvant therapy development.
• Further research into AMPs could lead to novel strategies to overcome current limitations in hepatitis treatment.