Antimicrobial peptides against colorectal cancer-a focused review

  • Chauhan, Sonia
  • Dhawan, Devinder K.
  • Saini, Avneet
  • Preet, Simran

  • Department of Biophysics, Basic Medical Sciences, Panjab University, Block-II, South Campus, Sector-25, Chandigarh 160014, India

*Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses:[email protected] (S. Chauhan), [email protected] (D.K. Dhawan), [email protected] (A. Saini), [email protected] (S. Preet).

Submitted November 5, 2020; revised February 25, 2021; accepted March 1, 2021.

Pharmacological Research 167:p 105529, May 2021. | DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105529

ABSTRACT

Despite recent advances in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), low patient survival rate due to emergence of drug resistant cancer cells, metastasis and multiple deleterious side effects of chemotherapy, is a cause of public concern globally. To negate these clinical conundrums, search for effective and harmless novel molecular entities for the treatment of CRC is an urgent necessity. Since antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of innate immunity of living beings, it is quite imperative to look for essential attributes of these peptides which may contribute to their effectiveness against carcinogenesis. Once identified, those characteristics can be suitably modified using several synthetic and computational techniques to further enhance their selectivity and pharmacokinetic profiles. Hence, this review analyses scientific reports describing the antiproliferative action of AMPs derived from several sources, particularly focusing on various colon cancer in vitro/in vivo investigations. On perusal of the literature, it appears that AMPs based therapeutics would definitely find special place in CRC therapy in future either alone or as an adjunct to chemotherapy provided some necessary alterations are made in their natural structures to make them more compatible with modern clinical practice. In this context, further in-depth research is warranted in adequate in vivo models.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

  • Urgent efforts to explore effective and harmless novel anticancer molecules for treatment of colon cancer are warranted.

  • Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from natural and synthetic origins reveal promising anticancer potential.

  • A comprehensive analysis of reported therapeutic effects displayed by AMPs against colon cancer has been provided.

  • The review also presents a brief overview of structural aspects and mechanisms of action of AMPs as anticancer agents.

  • Challenges and future prospects of application of AMPs as novel anticancer molecules have been summarized.

Copyright © 2021Elsevier, Inc.