Fish-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) as Anticancer Agents: A Mini-Review of In Vitro Evidence

Marine fish provide a significant reservoir of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) with potential anticancer properties, an area of growing scientific focus.

This review gathers findings from studies published between 2020 and 2024, sourced from databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, BioMed Central, and ScienceDirect, identifying 15 relevant research papers highlighting the potential of fish-derived antimicrobial peptides in anticancer research.

AMPs exhibit broad-spectrum anticancer activity against diverse cancer cell lines, primarily by inducing apoptosis or necrosis through mechanisms that involve ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA damage.

The therapeutic promise of fish AMPs is rooted in their diverse mechanisms, including highly selective cytotoxicity and the ability to exploit oxidative stress and trigger irreversible cell death, along with antiangiogenic properties. Future clinical development requires synthetic optimization and advanced drug delivery systems to enhance stability, bioavailability, and targeted delivery.

This study highlights the promise of fish antimicrobial peptides as an additional class of anticancer therapies and explores future prospects, including improvements in drug administration and peptide modification, that might enhance their clinical application.