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Antimicrobial peptides with anticancer activity: Today status, trends and their computational design
Masoumeh Kordi1, Zeynab Borzouyi2, Saideh Chitsaz3
1Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Some antimicrobial peptides have been shown to be able to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cell lines. Various strategies for treating cancers with active peptides have been pursued. According to the reports, anticancer peptides are important therapeutic peptides, which can act through two distinct pathways: they either just create pores in the cell membrane, or they have a vital intracellular target. In this review, publications up to Sep. 2021 had extracted form Scopus and PubMed using "antimicrobial peptide" and "anticancer peptide" as keywords. In second step, "computational design" related publications extracted. Among publications, those have similar scopes were classified and selected based on mechanisms of action and application. In this review, the most recent advances in the field of antimicrobial peptides with anti-cancer activities have been summarized. Freely available webservers such as AntiCP, ACPP, iACP, iACP-GAEnsC, ACPred are discussed here. In conclusion, despite some limitations of ACPs such as production cost and challenges, short half-life and toxicity on normal cells, the beneficial properties of AMPs make some of them good therapeutic agents for cancer therapy. Towards designing novel ACPs, the computational methods have substantial position and have been used progressively, today.
Insights
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) show promise in cancer therapy by targeting cancer cells. Computational design aids in developing novel anticancer peptides (ACPs) despite challenges like toxicity and production costs.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exhibit anticancer properties, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.
- Anticancer peptides (ACPs) function via membrane pore formation or intracellular targeting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in AMPs with anticancer activities.
- To discuss computational design strategies for novel ACPs.
Main Methods:
- Literature search on Scopus and PubMed using "antimicrobial peptide" and "anticancer peptide" (up to Sep. 2021).
- Extraction and classification of "computational design" related publications based on mechanism and application.
- Discussion of freely available webservers for ACP design (AntiCP, ACPP, iACP, iACP-GAEnsC, ACPred).
Main Results:
- AMPs demonstrate significant potential as therapeutic agents against various cancer types.
- Computational methods are increasingly vital for designing effective and targeted ACPs.
- Several webservers facilitate the design and prediction of ACP activity.
Conclusions:
- Despite limitations such as production cost, short half-life, and potential toxicity, AMPs offer beneficial properties for cancer therapy.
- Computational approaches are crucial for overcoming ACP limitations and advancing novel ACP development.
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