Sood Apurva, Jothiswaran V V, Singh Amrita, Sharma Anuradha
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Punjab 144411, India.
Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769005, India.
Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2024;5(5):1074-1099. doi: 10.37349/etat.2024.00264. Epub 2024 Aug 21.
Cancer remains a concern after years of research in this field. Conventional therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery are available for cancer treatment, but they are characterized by various side effects. There are several immunological challenges that make it difficult for the immune system and conventional therapies to treat cancer. Some of these challenges include heterogeneity, resistance to medicines, and cancer relapse. Even advanced treatments like immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which revolutionized cancer treatment, have associated toxicity and resistance further necessitate the exploration of alternative therapies. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) offer promising potential as cancer-fighting agents and address challenges such as treatment resistance, tumor heterogeneity, and metastasis. Although these peptides exist as components of the defense system in various plants, animals, fungi, etc., but can also be created synthetically and used as a new treatment measure. These peptides possess properties that make them appealing for cancer therapy, such as apoptosis induction, inhibition of angiogenesis, and cell membrane breakdown with low toxicity. Their capacity to specifically target cancer cells selectively holds promise for enhancing treatment environments as well as improving patients' quality of life. This review provides detailed insights into the different prospects of ACPs, including their characterization, use as immunomodulatory agents in cancer treatment, and their mechanistic details after addressing various immunological challenges in existing cancer treatment strategies. In conclusion, ACPs have promising potential as novel cancer therapeutics due to their target specificity and fewer side effects than conventional therapies.
经过该领域多年的研究，癌症仍然是一个令人担忧的问题。化疗、放疗和手术等传统疗法可用于癌症治疗，但它们具有各种副作用。存在一些免疫学挑战，使得免疫系统和传统疗法难以治疗癌症。其中一些挑战包括异质性、对药物的抗性和癌症复发。即使是像免疫检查点抑制剂（ICIs）这样彻底改变了癌症治疗的先进疗法，也存在相关毒性，而且抗性进一步促使人们探索替代疗法。抗癌肽（ACPs）作为抗癌剂具有广阔的潜力，能够应对治疗抗性、肿瘤异质性和转移等挑战。尽管这些肽作为各种植物、动物、真菌等防御系统的组成部分存在，但也可以通过合成方式制备并用作一种新的治疗手段。这些肽具有一些使其在癌症治疗中具有吸引力的特性，如诱导细胞凋亡、抑制血管生成以及低毒性的细胞膜破坏。它们选择性地特异性靶向癌细胞的能力有望改善治疗环境并提高患者的生活质量。本综述详细介绍了抗癌肽的不同前景，包括其特性、在癌症治疗中作为免疫调节药物的用途，以及在解决现有癌症治疗策略中的各种免疫学挑战后的作用机制细节。总之，由于其靶点特异性和比传统疗法更少的副作用，抗癌肽作为新型癌症治疗药物具有广阔的潜力。
