Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Instituto de Fisiologia Celular, UNAM, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
Department of Computer Science, CICESE Research Center, Ensenada 22860, Mexico.
Biosci Rep. 2022 Sep 30;42(9). doi: 10.1042/BSR20221789.
Health is fundamental for the development of individuals and evolution of species. In that sense, for human societies is relevant to understand how the human body has developed molecular strategies to maintain health. In the present review, we summarize diverse evidence that support the role of peptides in this endeavor. Of particular interest to the present review are antimicrobial peptides (AMP) and cell-penetrating peptides (CPP). Different experimental evidence indicates that AMP/CPP are able to regulate autophagy, which in turn regulates the immune system response. AMP also assists in the establishment of the microbiota, which in turn is critical for different behavioral and health aspects of humans. Thus, AMP and CPP are multifunctional peptides that regulate two aspects of our bodies that are fundamental to our health: autophagy and microbiota. While it is now clear the multifunctional nature of these peptides, we are still in the early stages of the development of computational strategies aimed to assist experimentalists in identifying selective multifunctional AMP/CPP to control nonhealthy conditions. For instance, both AMP and CPP are computationally characterized as amphipatic and cationic, yet none of these features are relevant to differentiate these peptides from non-AMP or non-CPP. The present review aims to highlight current knowledge that may facilitate the development of AMP's design tools for preventing or treating illness.
健康是个体发展和物种进化的基础。从这个意义上说，对于人类社会来说，了解人体如何发展出维持健康的分子策略是很重要的。在本综述中，我们总结了支持肽在这方面发挥作用的各种证据。特别值得关注的是抗菌肽（AMP）和细胞穿透肽（CPP）。不同的实验证据表明，AMP/CPP 能够调节自噬，而自噬又调节免疫系统的反应。AMP 还有助于建立微生物群，而微生物群对人类的不同行为和健康方面至关重要。因此，AMP 和 CPP 是具有多种功能的肽，能够调节我们身体的两个对健康至关重要的方面：自噬和微生物群。虽然现在很清楚这些肽具有多功能性，但我们仍处于开发旨在帮助实验人员识别选择性多功能 AMP/CPP 以控制非健康状况的计算策略的早期阶段。例如，AMP 和 CPP 在计算上都被描述为两亲性和阳离子性，但这些特征都与区分这些肽与非 AMP 或非 CPP 无关。本综述旨在强调当前的知识，这可能有助于 AMP 设计工具的开发，以预防或治疗疾病。
