Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
Biotechnol Adv. 2021 Sep-Oct;50:107769. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107769. Epub 2021 May 11.
Animal venoms are a rich source of bioactive peptides that efficiently modulate key receptors and ion channels involved in cellular excitability to rapidly neutralize their prey or predators. As such, they have been a wellspring of highly useful pharmacological tools for decades. Besides targeting ion channels, some venom peptides exhibit strong cytotoxic activity and preferentially affect cancer over healthy cells. This is unlikely to be driven by an evolutionary impetus, and differences in tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment are probably behind the serendipitous selectivity shown by some venom peptides. However, strategies such as bioconjugation and nanotechnologies are showing potential to improve their selectivity and potency, thereby paving the way to efficiently harness new anticancer mechanisms offered by venom peptides. This review aims to highlight advances in nano- and chemotherapeutic tools and prospective anti-cancer drug leads derived from animal venom peptides.
动物毒液是生物活性肽的丰富来源，这些肽能够有效地调节涉及细胞兴奋性的关键受体和离子通道，从而迅速中和其猎物或捕食者。因此，几十年来，它们一直是极具价值的药理学工具的源泉。除了靶向离子通道外，一些毒液肽还具有很强的细胞毒性，并优先影响癌细胞而不是健康细胞。这不太可能是进化动力驱动的，肿瘤细胞和肿瘤微环境的差异可能是一些毒液肽表现出偶然选择性的原因。然而，生物共轭和纳米技术等策略显示出提高其选择性和效力的潜力，从而为有效地利用毒液肽提供的新抗癌机制铺平了道路。本综述旨在强调源自动物毒液肽的纳米和化疗工具以及有前景的抗癌药物先导物的进展。
