Use of bioactive peptides for cancer treatment (a review)

Cancer is the second most common cause of death, being responsible for 8.2 million deaths worldwide in 2013. In recent years, the consistent consumption of cereals and cereal-derived food products hasbeen linked with a reduced risk of cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases. Cereals contain nutraceutical molecules that can exert specific biological effects and promote health and prevent diseases. These biomolecules are proteins and their derivatives, peptides, and amino acids present in different quantities in the grain.Some peptides have several important advantages over proteins orantibodies: they are small in size, easy to synthesis and have the ability to penetrate the cell membranes. Peptides have different strategies in cancer treatment and management. A special emphasis is given to current peptide drugs available in the market for treating cancer and also peptide candidates in clinical and preclinical stages of development. Peptides can be utilized in a number of different ways in treating cancer. This includes using peptides directly as drugs (e.g., as angiogenesis inhibitors), tumor targeting agents that carry cytotoxic drugs and radionuclides (targeted chemotherapy and radiation therapy), hormones, and vaccines.Therapeutic peptides for the treatment of cancer classified into three main groups: (a) antimicrobial/pore forming peptides, (b) cell-permeable peptides and (c) tumour targeting peptides. These pore-forming peptides target cancer cell membranes, and can induce cell death either by necrosis or apoptosis. Cell penetration peptides (CPPs) are 5–30 AA in length and can translocate through the plasma membrane and transport cargos ranging from small molecules (e.g., DNA, siRNA and plasmid) to oligonucleotides and proteins and as such provide a promising mechanism for drug delivery. Tumour-targeting peptides (TTPs) could be used as a drug delivery system due to its ability to be internalized into the cell.These therapeutic peptides bind specifically to those target protein to which they are designed for. They induce cell death in various cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. They show selectivity in targeting cancer cells without damaging untransformed cells

کلیدواژه ها:

Lifestyle and Cancer ، Nutrition and Cancer ، Cancer Treatment and Management ، Targeted Cancer Therapy ، Drugs and Cancer