Abstract
The threat of a worldwide influenza pandemic has greatly increased over the past decade with the emergence of highly virulent avian influenza strains. The increased frequency of drug-resistant influenza strains against currently available antiviral drugs requires urgent development of new strategies for antiviral therapy, too. The research in the field of therapeutic peptides began to develop extensively in the second half of the 20th century. Since then, the mechanisms of action for several peptides and their antiviral prospect received large attention due to the global threat posed by viruses. Here, we discussed the therapeutic properties of peptides used in influenza treatment. Peptides with antiviral activity against influenza can be divided into three main groups. First, entry blocker peptides such as a Flupep that interact with influenza hemagglutinin, block its binding to host cells and prevent viral fusion. Second, several peptides display virucidal activity, disrupting viral envelopes, e.g., Melittin. Finally, a third set of peptides interacts with the viral polymerase complex and act as viral replication inhibitors such as PB1 derived peptides. Here, we present a review of the current literature describing the antiviral activity, mechanism and future therapeutic potential of these influenza antiviral peptides.
Highlights
Some biological active peptides act in compliance with other defense mechanisms of plants or mammals [1,2,3] and can be considered as one of the first forms of “chemical” protection of eukaryotic cells against bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses developed throughout the course of evolution [4,5]
Lu et al used real-time quartz crystal microbalance for tracing the dynamic behavior of lipid bilayers interacting with melittin. These results showed that reaching a threshold peptide concentration followed by mass removal includes the release of lipids, probably as lipid-melittin complex, and the leakage of vesicle components [84], by disrupting the bilayer curvature leading to micellization of released lipids, is crucial [82]
Influenza spreads worldwide in yearly seasonal epidemics, and less frequent pandemics, posing a constant risk; there is a need for new antiviral drugs
Summary
Some biological active peptides act in compliance with other defense mechanisms of plants or mammals [1,2,3] and can be considered as one of the first forms of “chemical” protection of eukaryotic cells against bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses developed throughout the course of evolution [4,5]. These effects of natural peptides have been studied since 1970s and since various therapeutic activities were proposed against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria [6]. We present a comprehensive overview of peptides with therapeutic potential against specific targets of influenza viruses
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