Abstract
Peptides are characterized by their wide range of biological activity: they regulate functions of the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. The mechanism of such action of peptides involves their ability to regulate gene expression and protein synthesis in plants, microorganisms, insects, birds, rodents, primates, and humans. Short peptides, consisting of 2–7 amino acid residues, can penetrate into the nuclei and nucleoli of cells and interact with the nucleosome, the histone proteins, and both single- and double-stranded DNA. DNA–peptide interactions, including sequence recognition in gene promoters, are important for template-directed synthetic reactions, replication, transcription, and reparation. Peptides can regulate the status of DNA methylation, which is an epigenetic mechanism for the activation or repression of genes in both the normal condition, as well as in cases of pathology and senescence. In this context, one can assume that short peptides were evolutionarily among the first signaling molecules that regulated the reactions of template-directed syntheses. This situation enhances the prospects of developing effective and safe immunoregulatory, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, and other drugs based on short peptides.
Highlights
Peptides are molecules that contain 2–100 amino acid residues bonded by amide bonds
Another study showed that the peptide AEDG can interact with the H1/6 and H1/3 histones through the His-Pro-Ser-Tyr-Met-Ala-His-Pro-Ala-Arg-Lys and Tyr-Arg-Lys-Thr-Gln amino acid sequences that interact with DNA
The diverse spectrum of the biological effects of the short peptides that ensure the control of key processes in the body indicates the importance of studies of the mechanisms of their action (Table 5)
Summary
Peptides are molecules that contain 2–100 amino acid residues bonded by amide (peptide) bonds. The activities of peptides are characterized by their wide range of biological properties, including their regulation of cell differentiation, apoptosis, and proliferation. The isolation of polypeptide extracts from various animal organs, and the further construction and synthesis of short peptides with a length of 2–4 amino acid residues, was an important stage in the study of the biological activity of peptides [8,10]. This review is dedicated to studying the inter-relation of the biological function of peptides and their ability to regulate the expression of genes by means of their binding to the DNA. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the information available on the role of DNA–peptide interactions within the regulation of gene expression, protein synthesis, and physiological functions
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