TAT for Enzyme/Protein Delivery to Restore or Destroy Cell Activity in Human Diseases
Michal Lichtenstein,
Samar Zabit,
Noa Hauser,
Sarah Farouz,
Orly Melloul,
Joud Hirbawi,
Haya Lorberboum-Galski
Affiliations
Michal Lichtenstein
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Samar Zabit
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Noa Hauser
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Sarah Farouz
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Orly Melloul
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Joud Hirbawi
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Haya Lorberboum-Galski
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Much effort has been dedicated in the recent decades to find novel protein/enzyme-based therapies for human diseases, the major challenge of such therapies being the intracellular delivery and reaching sub-cellular organelles. One promising approach is the use of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) for delivering enzymes/proteins into cells. In this review, we describe the potential therapeutic usages of CPPs (mainly trans-activator of transcription protein, TAT) in enabling the uptake of biologically active proteins/enzymes needed in cases of protein/enzyme deficiency, concentrating on mitochondrial diseases and on the import of enzymes or peptides in order to destroy pathogenic cells, focusing on cancer cells.
