Abstract
Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and host defense peptides (HDPs) show vast potential as peptide-based drugs. Great effort has been made in order to exploit their mechanisms of action, aiming to identify their targets as well as to enhance their activity and bioavailability. In this review, we will focus on both naturally occurring and designed antiviral and antitumor cationic peptides, including those here called promiscuous, in which multiple targets are associated with a single peptide structure. Emphasis will be given to their biochemical features, selectivity against extra targets, and molecular mechanisms. Peptides which possess antitumor activity against different cancer cell lines will be discussed, as well as peptides which inhibit virus replication, focusing on their applications for human health, animal health and agriculture, and their potential as new therapeutic drugs. Moreover, the current scenario for production and the use of nanotechnology as delivery tool for both classes of cationic peptides, as well as the perspectives on improving them is considered.
Highlights
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural peptides found in microorganisms, plants, and animals, and are considered the evolutionarily conserved effectors in innate immunity (Hancock and Chapple, 1999; Hancock and Sahl, 2006)
Many AMPs and host defense peptides (HDPs) isolated from a wide variety of organisms including mammals, amphibians, insects, plants, and bacteria have been reported to have antiviral and/or antitumor activities
CATIONIC ANTIVIRAL PEPTIDES ISOLATED FROM VERTEBRATES There are several AMPs derived from mammalian sources which have demonstrated strong activity against many viruses that compromise human health (Table 2)
Summary
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural peptides found in microorganisms, plants, and animals, and are considered the evolutionarily conserved effectors in innate immunity (Hancock and Chapple, 1999; Hancock and Sahl, 2006). Many AMPs and HDPs isolated from a wide variety of organisms including mammals, amphibians, insects, plants, and bacteria have been reported to have antiviral and/or antitumor activities This review comprises their mechanisms of action and targets, as well as their potential as new therapeutic strategies to combat both viruses and malignant cells. Acknowledging the limitations of these currently available therapies, researchers have been encouraged to seek novel anticancer agents with only one exclusive mechanism of action (Szakacs et al, 2006; Hoskin and Ramamoorthy, 2008) In this context, natural AMPs from different sources and their synthetic analogs have been the basis for a number of studies performed to discover new therapies for treating malignant cells (Table 1)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
