Medical Immune Oncology Research Group (MIORG), Institute of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Braz J Microbiol. 2023 Dec;54(4):2561-2570. doi: 10.1007/s42770-023-01118-8. Epub 2023 Sep 19.
Prof. Luiz Rodolpho Travassos, a distinguished Brazilian scientist, was instrumental in fostering an interdisciplinary research approach that seamlessly combined microbiology and oncology. This work has opened new pathways into the understanding of tumorigenesis and aided in the development of innovative therapeutic tools. One significant area of his work has been the exploration of bioactive peptides, many of which were first identified for their antimicrobial properties. These peptides demonstrate promise as potential cancer therapeutics due to their selectivity, cost-effectiveness, ease of synthesis, low antigenicity, and excellent tissue penetration. Prof. Travassos' pioneering work uncovered on the potential of peptides derived from microbiological sources, such as those obtained using phage display techniques. More importantly, in international cooperation, peptides derived from complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) that showed antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans further showed to be promising tools with cytotoxic properties against cancer cells. Similarly, peptides derived from natural sources, such as the gomesin peptide, not only had shown antimicrobial properties but could treat cutaneous melanoma in experimental models. These therapeutic tools allowed Prof. Travassos and his group to navigate the intricate landscape of factors and pathways that drive cancer development, including persistent proliferative signaling, evasion of tumor suppressor genes, inhibition of programmed cell death, and cellular immortality. This review examines the mechanisms of action of these peptides, aligning them with the universally recognized hallmarks of cancer, and evaluates their potential as drug candidates. It highlights the crucial need for more selective, microbiology-inspired anti-cancer strategies that spare healthy cells, a challenge that current therapies often struggle to address. By offering a comprehensive assessment of Prof. Travassos' innovative contributions and a detailed discussion on the increasing importance of microbiology-derived peptides, this review presents an informed and robust perspective on the possible future direction of cancer therapy.
巴西杰出科学家 Luiz Rodolpho Travassos 教授致力于推动跨学科研究方法，将微生物学和肿瘤学无缝结合。这项工作为肿瘤发生机制的理解开辟了新途径，并为创新治疗工具的开发提供了帮助。他的工作的一个重要领域是探索生物活性肽，其中许多肽最初因其抗菌特性而被发现。由于其选择性、成本效益、易于合成、低抗原性和出色的组织穿透性，这些肽作为潜在的癌症治疗剂具有很大的潜力。Travassos 教授的开创性工作揭示了微生物来源的肽的潜力，例如使用噬菌体展示技术获得的肽。更重要的是，在国际合作中，从互补决定区 (CDR) 衍生的具有抗白色念珠菌抗菌活性的肽进一步显示出作为对抗癌细胞具有细胞毒性特性的有前途的工具。同样，源自天然来源的肽，如 gomesin 肽，不仅具有抗菌特性，而且可以在实验模型中治疗皮肤黑色素瘤。这些治疗工具使 Travassos 教授及其团队能够研究驱动癌症发展的因素和途径的复杂景观，包括持续的增殖信号、肿瘤抑制基因的逃逸、程序性细胞死亡的抑制和细胞不朽。这篇综述检查了这些肽的作用机制，将它们与普遍公认的癌症标志联系起来，并评估了它们作为候选药物的潜力。它强调了需要更具选择性、受微生物启发的抗癌策略的迫切需要，这些策略可以保护健康细胞，这是当前疗法经常难以解决的挑战。通过对 Travassos 教授的创新贡献进行全面评估，并详细讨论微生物衍生肽的日益重要性，本综述为癌症治疗的未来方向提供了一个明智而稳健的视角。
