Antineoplastic mechanism of antimicrobial peptides: Selective membrane destruction and non-membrane dissolution / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial peptides, an extract from nature, are a basic component of host immunity that make toxic effect on highly proliferative cells. They have attracted extensive attention of scientists. The understanding of the antineoplastic mechanism of antimicrobial peptides can contribute to its application in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the research advances in antineoplastic mechanism of antimicrobial peptides. METHODS: The first author conducted a computer-based retrieval of PubMed, Springerlink, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases for relevant articles published from January 2015 to May 2019. The keywords were “antimicrobial, peptide, antitumor mechanisms, antitumor activity and anti-neoplastic”. The articles concerning antineoplastic mechanism of antimicrobial peptides and research progress were selected. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Cationic antimicrobial peptides synthesized by ribosomes and the host defense peptides can interact with the membrane of bacteria, which showed a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Compared with normal cells, the proportion of phosphatidylserine on the surface of cancer cells, which is negatively charged, is increased dramatically. As a result, the cationic amphiphilic peptides are good candidate for the antineoplastic drugs, and possess a high selectivity. There are two major antitumor mechanism of antimicrobial peptides, which are selective membrane destruction and non-membrane dissolution (α-defensin-1 and lactoferrin B). The clinical application of antimicrobial peptides against tumors is mainly restricted by their stability and the ways to administration. By optimizing its structure and drug delivery systems, these antimicrobial peptides will play a critical role in the cancer treatment.